Survival Instinct: a Simon and Marcy Story
by RandomFanFicReader772
Summary: When Finn finds a mysterious picture hung in Marceline's room, She tells him the story behind it. HAS OCs and RATED M for violence.
1. Day of Infamy

**You guys voted for it, so here goes! **

**Disclaimer: I dont own any of the adventure time characters except for the OCs in this story. Also, my inner knowledge about guns is going to come out. I am not a gun enthusiast, but i grew up around guns, so naturally, i was taught how to use them.**

**Also, the beginning of this story happens during the events of After Dark, not too long after Finn's birthday. **

* * *

On a dark night, somewhere underneath the stalactites of a cave in the land of Ooo, lies a house where Marceline, the vampire queen resides. Tonight, she is accompanied by her lover, Finn, the human, for a jam session with his newly acquired axe guitar that Marceline had given him for his birthday. They have been dating for seven months and things were going smoothly for the couple. Finn awaits his lady in her bedroom as she takes a quick shower. He looks around the room, staring at the pictures on the pink wall. There were pictures of her travels all around Ooo, places that Finn has never seen before. One particular picture, on her pink wall, caught his attention however. It was a highly desaturated picture, in mostly black and white. Finn stood up from Marceline's bed to get a better look. The photo was of a group of humans holding what looked like unconventional blades, with multiple grips.

_What kind of sword is that? _He thought.

He examined the picture some more, but he was only able to make out two familiar faces: Simon and Marceline, who were both also holding the oddly shaped weapons. Marceline must not have been older than seventeen when this photo was taken. There was, however, a third familiar face; a face Finn could not put his finger on, yet it was at the tip of his tongue. He heard footsteps coming from the bathroom, and Marceline caught him as he quickly scrambled to put the picture back on the wall. "Sorry," he said.

"Oh that… It's no problem," she replied as she flew over to him, still in her bath robe. "I saw you observing that picture."

"Yeah… who are these people?" Finn asked quietly. "And what are they holding?"

Marceline removed the picture from the wall and held it to her face. "Well… these were my friends. Survivors of the Mushroom War." She pointed to the weapons they were holding. "Those are assault rifles."

"Assault rifles?"

"Yeah… think of it like a bow and arrow machine. Instead of firing arrows, it fires the small, sharp metal objects called bullets. They fly very fast and are very accurate. They can blow your limbs off and kill you quickly."

"Wow… sounds amazing."

Marceline shot Finn an odd look, but he couldn't understand why. "These were weapons of destruction, Finn. I'm actually glad that they are gone. They could do a lot of damage and they can give a single person a lot of power. A weapon not to be messed with."

"Ohhh…" They both sat there silently, staring at the photo. "What happened? Like how did you become a part of this group?"

"You really want to hear it? It's pretty long?"

"Marcy… we have all night." Finn leaned in and kissed her, making her blush in all shades red as he held her hand.

"Well… if you really want to hear the story… I guess…

"The first thing you need to understand is the Mushroom War, from how it started to how it ended so quickly. Unlike most wars, which usually lasts years on end, the Mushroom War only lasted about six months."

"Why so short?" asked the hero.

"I'm getting to that. Anyway, contrary to popular belief, the Great Mushroom War had actually started by mistake. There was a place called the United States of America, and another called North Korea, who were both at each other's throats over a thousand years ago. The USA were doing nuclear weapons testing, but had forgotten to inform the entire world. Once North Korea detected the launching of nuclear missiles, they launched every nuclear warhead they got against the US."

"Wow… these nuclear weapons must have been powerful," Finn stated in awe.

Marceline had her gaze towards her boyfriend. "Oh yes. They were. A single nuke can wipe out a huge portion of Ooo with a single blast. The rest of Ooo would be decimated due to radiation poisoning and nuclear fallout." She then returned her gaze back towards the photo. "You see, if you look at the world map, the giant chunk missing from the planet is actually where the United States once was. After that, all of NATO, the alliance that the USA was in, which is similar to our own UAO (United Alliance of Ooo), gathered their forces to battle North Korea. The battle only lasted six months due to the intense radiation poisoning caused by the nukes. The radiation killed off all of the planet's population… or so we thought…" She took a deep sigh before continuing. "It actually turned out that there were some who were immune to the radiation…"

"There were survivors."

"Exactly… Anyway, in order to understand the story, you need to know this." Finn listened cautiously. "I wasn't born a vampire. I aged like a normal human. Once you were turned, you don't age anymore. So as you can tell, I was turned in my late teens. So now… where was I?"

* * *

_983 years ago_

* * *

Around the ruins of what used to be Moscow, Russia, a couple was roaming the empty streets. One would originally think that they were father and daughter, but no… they weren't. Simon Petrikov was walking the streets of Moscow with the seventeen year old Marceline Abadeer. Over the past week or so, Marceline had grown weak, due to an illness that neither of them knew of. She had not been turned into a vampire yet, so she suffered the same illnesses of humans, despite being half a demon herself, and Simon, despite having a bad back at his age, had to carry Marceline because she was too weak to walk. They were on another run to get supplies. Simon had originally wanted Marceline to stay put while he ran into town, but she didn't want him to leave for she was quite delusional.

The skies had been turned gray and over the past 13 years, it had never stopped snowing. It was a direct result of the massive atomic explosion that cause the war, which was why it was called 'nuclear winter.' Simon had no problem adapting to the cold because the crown turned his body icy; unfortunately, Marceline was still a warm-blooded creature. Simon looked up at the skies and thanked god that there was no snow storm approaching… well… at least yet.

When they finally came across a pharmacy, Simon set Marceline down in a dark corner and began to rummage through the mess of pills and vitamins. "Shit, nothing for a fever… these guys have been picked bone dry," he mumbled as he frantically dug through the drugs. "Maybe they have some chicken soup or something…" he ran to check up on the food section of the drug store, but nothing. There were at least some bags of chips on the floor, and even though they aren't as healthy or as warm as chicken soup, it was all they had, so it had to work for now.

As he began to bag the chips, he heard two loud metallic clicks and froze in place. "Drop everything you have and walk away…" the deep, British accented voice demanded. Simon looked up at the two shadowy figures, whom had their assault rifles pointed at him.

"Please, don't shoot. I beg of you." Simon pleaded. "I need these supplies."

"I said DROP THEM!"

_Shit there isn't any way out of this… if I die, so does Marcy. But if I kill them, she has a chance._ Simon looked down to the crown he had tied to his belt. His hands were shaking in anxiety. _I'm sorry Marcy… please forgive me._

As Marceline saw Simon reach for the crown, she gathered up her remaining bit of strength and pushed herself up. "Simon don't!" she yelled. The guns were now pointed at her as she took two steps forward before collapsing on the ground again. The taller, deeper British voiced man took one long look at Marceline, and while he was originally going to execute Simon, he saw something in Marceline that made him decide otherwise.

"Marcy! No!" Simon rushed to her side as the man followed him in his iron sights. Marcy was coughing immensely on the floor as Simon picked her up and held her in his arms.

"Is that your daughter?" the British man asked.

"Please… you can kill me if you want, but don't kill her… please. I'm begging you." Tears began to drip slowly down Simon's face as he begged for mercy.

The man takes one last look at Marceline and lowers his rifle. "Bloody hell..." he looks to his partner, who still has his rifle aimed towards the defenseless persons, shaking. "Rook, stand down…"

Time slowed as Simon stared down the end of the barrel, thinking that this was it. _I'm gonna die…_ He shut his eyes tightly, bracing himself for what was going to happen next…

_ Bam!_

_Well… that was quick and painless_, he thought, but he opened his eyes, noticing that the other man had pushed the weapon, aiming away from them. _Oh thank goodness…_

The dark silhouetted British man yanked the gun out of Rook's hands. "Now you listen to me… don't you ever disobey me again, or else next time, I'm leaving you for dead." Rook nodded his head, afraid of his words. The tall British man walked into the light, revealing himself. He didn't seem like an old man… not as old as Simon at least, but he was definitely one of the older looking gents, not any older than forty. He had a few scars on his face, but nothing too serious. The man knelt down next to Simon and Marcy. "Alright, chaps… I ain't gonna hurt you…"

"What?..."

"Listen, we got a camp about a good ten miles from here. If we take turns holding her, we could get there in a few hours and fix her right up. But you are going to have to trust me…"

"Trust you?" Simon chuckled. "I just barely met you. The both of you had a gun pointed to my head not fifteen seconds ago. Why should I trust you?"

"Because you don't have any other choice. You can either believe me or not, but if you don't, she dies. At least one way, you have a chance to save her."

Simon grumbled as he thought of his choice, or rather lack of choices. Unfortunately, his thoughts were cut short by an eerily disturbing sound of something making their way towards them from outside the pharmacy. The British man ran outside to assess the situation and to his horror, he ran back inside. "Toxics! At least five hundred!"

"What? How did they track us?"

"Fuckin Rookie's gunshot must have alerted them." He cocked his rifle. "We need to get to the rooftop! Follow me!" Simon picked Marcy up within his arms as Rook followed behind them. They quickly reach the rear end of the store, where the stranger kicked the door down, revealing the staircase. "Come on! We're going up!"

As they ran up the staircase, Marceline was going in and out of consciousness, remembering the little amount of happiness she had had in her life so far. Her earliest memory was of her mother, when she was born in a quarantine zone, not two months after the war began. They were surrounded by death, whether it was outside or inside. Inside, people were being accused of being 'infected' while people outside were fighting for their lives against others and the horde of toxics. The 'infected' were immediately put down in front of the streets; which was also a message letting the people know who exactly was in control. No one was allowed in or out of the city. The infant Marceline held her mother close, who was the spitting image of Marceline when she was older. The quarantine zone, which was once a peaceful paradise, quickly turned sour as people began to riot against the law, breaking into houses, killing fathers, and raping their wives. The last thing she saw, right before she went back into being conscious again, was her mother being executed, not for infection, but for treason; she risked her life to get Marceline out of the city.

The only remaining happy times were with Simon. The stories that she had heard from him made her happy, hoping that one day, it could go back to that. She had never seen the world Simon saw, for she was born not two months into the war. Nearly everything around them at the time was decimated and the only thing that kept her comfort was hearing Simon's stories. They allowed her to visualize the way that the fallen and crumbling buildings around her once looked.

As she fell back into consciousness, she was blinded by a bright light. The stranger had kicked down the door, revealing the rooftops. Rook got on his radio as Simon and the stranger barricaded the door. "This is Rook! We need immediate evac! We are at the pharmacy!..."

The stranger approached Simon, holding a sidearm in his hand. "You know how to use one of these?"

"I only shot one once!" Simon replied.

"Good enough! You're gonna have to set her down!" Simon was unsure at the man's suggestion. "Don't worry. We are going to protect her, but you're going to have to trust me!"

Simon nodded and laid Marceline down on her back, trying his best not to place her whole body in the snow. "Marcy… no matter what happens, I love you." He kissed the currently unconscious girl on her forehead and turned back around, facing the now barricaded door that they just came from. He readied his weapon, awaiting the onslaught before him.

The stranger turned to Rook, who was shaking in fear as he stared at the door, listening to the pounds of the monsters about to breach. "Rook! Here!" he tossed Rook's rifle back to him. "Don't fuck up this time." Rook nodded his head and readied his weapon. "Alright, how long do we have?"

"Three minutes!" Rook replied, not taking his eyes of the door that was dismantling.

"Good enough." The stranger aimed his rifle at the door, head level. "Ready!..."

Time slowed as the three focused on the door. The only sound they could hear were the monsters bashing the door down, trying to get to their meals. The sound if it all was deafening as well as haunting. As Simon watched the door dismantle, time came to a standstill, and with no warning, it suddenly sped up. The door finally broke down and out came a massive horde of the slimy monsters. One by one, the horde fell as the guns went off, blasting away at their heads. With every monster that dropped, another three quickly came to replace them. The ice on the rooftop floor melted into water once they came in contact with the hot shell casings that ejected from the firearms.

Simon fired away, desperately trying to keep the beasts off of him and Marceline. He fired and fired, and with each shot, he dropped one until…

_Click, Click, Click…_

"Shit! I need more bullets!"

"Last mag! Make it count!" Rook tossed his remaining sidearm magazine and as Simon attempted to catch it, the sweat developing on his hands allowed the magazine to slip right through his grasp. It was lost in the snow beneath him.

"Shit!" He scrambled on his feet, desperately digging in the snow for his shot at life. "C'mon where are you!?"

"Hurry up Simon!" the British man screamed.

Simon waved his hands through the snow until he felt something cold and dense come in contact with his fingers. "Gotcha!" He pulled out the magazine, shook the remaining ice off and shoved it into his pistol, chambering the first round as he went.

The three minutes they fought for their lives seemed to have been forever, and at long last, the evacuation team had finally arrived. The helicopter swooped down on the far end of the rooftop. "Simon! Rook! Get her on board! I'll hold them off!" Simon nodded at the stranger's commands and carried Marceline in his arms. He dashed toward the helicopter, just barely able to dodge the attacks of the slimy monsters. Rook had already made it to the helicopter and grabbed Marceline from Simon, exchanging her for Rook's rifle.

Simon turned back towards the stranger. "Come on! I got you!" and as the stranger turned around to make a run for the helicopter, Simon readied Rook's black rifle at the monstrosities attempting to grab at the man, and opened fired.

_Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang…._

One by one, they fell as the British man made it to the flying vehicle. When he was finally on board, he tapped Simon's shoulder, signaling him to come up. He climbed aboard and off they went, speeding into the distance.

* * *

After having a moment to catch their breath, Simon finally decides to break the ice. "Hey thanks for saving our asses back there."

"No worries mate."

"Oh I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce ourselves. I am Simon Petrikov and this is Marceline Abadeer." He stuck his hand out.

"The name's William Michael Fletcher. Folks back at camp just call me Billy." He returned his handshake.

"Billy, huh?"

"Yes. That's right. This is Rook, obviously short for Rookie."

"Nice to meet you there, Rook." Simon stuck out his hand and Rook returned his handshake. "Say, are you guys British?"

"Oh jeez, is it the accent?" Billy joked.

"Long way from home, don't you think? I mean, we are in Moscow."

Billy laughed just an instant longer before becoming suddenly serious. "There is no home anymore Simon."

* * *

**I hope you liked it. this is actually the first time i am writing about gunplay... Dont forget to leave a review and i will try to answer questions if they dont spoil the plot. **


	2. Good Times, Bad Times

**Disclaimer: I dont own Adventure Time. I do, however, own the characters Jonah, Lilly, and Rook.**

* * *

Simon observed the passing landscape underneath them. Everything had been covered in snow. As he looked at the frozen fields and trees, he wondered how much of the world survived the war. The icy cold air was nothing in comparison to his nearly frozen skin. He looked down at Marceline, who was laying down next to him. She had already had a giant coat covering her, but she was still shivering. Simon took off his coat and laid it upon her.

"We'll help her… we have a doctor back at camp," said Billy abruptly.

"Thanks Billy." Simon stared back down at Marceline, feeling like he had let her down. Simon knew Marceline never really had a father figure, but he tried his best to fill his shoes. He had always wanted a child but in the end, he never got one. His fiancée, Betty, ran off before they had a chance to conceive. As Simon was lost in his thoughts, Marceline began to convulse violently, clutching the left part of her chest with her hand, screaming in pain. "Marcy?" She fell onto the floor and was nearly sliding around the flying vehicle.

"Oh shit. Step on it!" Billy yelled to the pilot.

"Marcy… You're gonna be okay. We're gonna get you some help." Simon gently clasped her hands in his own as he began to see her pupils dilate. She was going softer, her tenseness loosening. "Marcy, no. Marcy! Hang on!..."

* * *

_Marceline awoke in a pitch black room and even though there was no light, she could see herself pretty well. "Simon!?" she screamed but there was no answer. She tried again. "Simon!?" Still no answer. _Where am I? _she thought. She walked in one direction, but it seemed to bring her nowhere. She kept walking anyway and then suddenly, she appeared in a forest, where the green grass shined in the sunlight. It was the first time she had seen such colors in her life. Her whole life, she had only seen snow, so she was happy to finally get a chance to feel the bushes, smell the flowers and taste real fruit that hadn't been injected with chemicals for preservation. To her, it was paradise, and she thought that there was nothing sweeter. _

_ "Marceline…" She heard a female voice echo faintly. _

_ "Who's there?" She asked. _

_ A beautiful, red-haired woman appeared before her. She had nearly the same eyes as Marceline and her skin was vibrant with a yellowish-white tint. She in fact looked a lot like Marceline, except with baby blue eyes and red hair. Even the facial structures and the body type was the same. "My name isn't important. What is important, is hope. You shouldn't be so eager to give up on life, Marceline."_

_ The faintly beautiful voice knew how Marceline felt, from the world around her, to her issues, both physically and emotionally. She knew how much she wanted to see the world that Simon had once lived in. She knew how terrible the world outside was, and worse, her father was never there. She knew how to see him, but father's are supposed to be there for their own child instinctively, right? The closest thing he had to a father was Simon, and though she loved him, that wasn't enough, for she knew that even he would leave her someday. She never told Simon any of this, though it's been festering up inside her like a flood battering against an old, worn, and rusty dam, and when the illness struck, her dam collapsed. She had enough of life, and just wanted to live in the paradise that she saw…_

_ "Why…?" asked Marceline._

_ "Let me show you why…"_

_ At the snap of the red-haired woman's fingers, they were instantly at the edge of the forest in the moonlight, where they observed a couple just laying there within each other's grasp. Standing upright, was a woman, raven black hair, two bite marks on the left side of her neck, fangs visible betwixt her lips... it was quite obvious to Marceline that she was staring at herself. _

_ The other person in the scene was a man wearing shoes, blue shorts, and a blue shirt. She couldn't tell what his face looked like because it was silhouetted underneath his white hood with bear ears. Marceline could tell that they were genuinely happy, a happiness that she herself had longed for. _Who was this man?_ She thought. She turned to the red-haired women standing beside her. "Why are you showing me this?"_

_ "Because you need a reason to live… because without you, Marceline, the distant future is doomed."_

_ "What!? What do you me-"_

* * *

Marceline suddenly awoke in a blue room, staring at the blinding bright light directly above her face, surrounded by Simon, who was holding her hand, Billy, a woman, and a doctor. She had tubes all over her body, and needles were underneath her skin. She had coughed herself back into consciousness, struggling for a breath. She thrashed around the bed, her eyes showing immense fear as she fought against her restraints. She had no recollection of what was going on, so she freaked. Then, the left side of her chest hurt so incredibly bad, she passed out from excruciating pain. The woman, who wore a serious, business-like look on her face, ushered Billy out of the room. At the same time, the Doctor asked Simon to clear the area, and that he can wait in the room if he likes, but he can't distract her or be near her, so he left Marceline's bedside and just stood by the door as it shut behind Billy. "What is it Jonah?" he overheard them talking. Simon could also hear the woman pacing back and forth nervously.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" she screamed silently. "Bringing two new people into our group? Are you out of your fucking mind, Billy? We barely have enough supplies for the people we have, let alone medical supplies."

"Well what did you want me to do? Huh? Let them die?"

"Yes!" she said abruptly.

"No… that's not what we do…"

"It _is_ what we do, Billy! We are survivors. We can't be doing this." Simon could hear Jonah taking steps towards Billy from behind the door. "And don't think I don't know why you really rescued them, Billy. No matter what you do, no matter who you save, Lilly is dead. No matter how many times you atone, she will never come back." She began to cry as she stormed off, her whimpers muffled behind the door.

The doctor walks up to Simon, telling him that he has to leave the room for a little bit until she lets her back in. Simon nods and exits the room, where outside, Billy is sitting down, looking up at him. "Hey, Billy… you okay?"

"Yeah… yeah I'm fine…" he brushed off the tears from his face, attempting to hide it from Simon. "So… how's… uhh…."

"She is still diagnosing her." Simon sat down next to him. "Man… I hope she's okay."

"Me too…"

* * *

There was nearly an hour of awkward silence between the two. Neither of them barely knew each other, so there wasn't really much to say. They didn't want to offend the other, but Simon needed to break the ice, for the silence was maddening. "Hey Billy, I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to give me an honest answer…"

"Go ahead mate."

"Why did you rescue us? Why did you go through so much trouble just to save my little girl?"

Billy took a deep sigh and began his long story. "Well… I once had a girl… that I had to protect." He took out his wallet, which inside was a picture of a red-headed girl no more than six years old, who had strikingly similar features to Marceline, except for her fiery red hair and baby blue eyes. "Her name is Lillian Isabella Fletcher."

"Your daughter…"

"Yes. Before this, it was just us three. Me, Jonah, and Lilly…" He looked up to hold the tears in his eyes. "You know, there was one thing that it always came down to. Food. That was it. Every day, we starved as we rummaged through houses, looking for food, animals, anything we could eat. We searched throughout the house we were staying in that night, and had I known the price we were going to pay for the food, we would have left in a heartbeat." Billy couldn't hold his tears back anymore. They came rushing out like a rivers and a waterfall. "I told her to prepare the bed in the living room as Jonah and I looked for food. God we should have never left her alone. We heard her scream and when we came back out, one of those fuckers were on her, eating her arm off. I grabbed my crowbar and beat the fucker to death, but it was too late. Lilly was covered in that slime…" He looked at Simon. "Don't ever go near that slime. If it gets on you, you start morphing."

Simon nodded fearfully. "So what happened next?"

"I was about to hold her… she wouldn't let me. I would have turned… God I wish that we never would have stayed there." Simon placed a hand on his shoulder. "I put her down, man… I… I…"

"You did what you had to."

Billy wiped some of the tears from his eyes. "After that… Jonah was never the same again… despite being the only person I had at that point… we drifted apart. I guess I just saw something in Marceline that reminded me of her."

Simon caressed his shoulder once more. "Thanks again for rescuing us, Billy."

For the next half hour or so, Simon and Billy just sat there in the infirmary, waiting to hear about Marceline's condition. Finally, the door opened and the doctor stepped out, taking off her latex gloves. "What's the verdict doctor?" Simon asked impatiently.

"Well… good news or bad news? Which first?" she inquired.

"Good news… I guess."

"Well… the good news is that she is she is stable for now. I have even diagnosed her condition. She has a severe case of pneumonia amongst other diseases. Luckily, it's all treatable."

Simon sighed in relief. "Okay… What's the bad news."

The doctor's expression turned gravely serious. "The bad news is I lack the supplies to deal with such a disease. Without the necessary equipment, she won't last the night. If you want her to survive, you are going to have to go to the hospital in town. I need things like chest tubes, intubators, oxygen tanks and medicine. Morphine is recommended, but not necessary. I have a list written down."

Billy takes the list from her hands and slides it into his pocket. "Alright…" he claps his hands together. "Let's do this." Simon looked at Billy in shock as they walked out of the room together.

"Whoa wait a minute," Simon placed the back of his hand onto Billy's chest, stopping him in his tracks. "Are you sure you want to come with me?"

"Yeah… I needed to make a run to the hospital sooner or later anyway." Billy clapped his hand on Simon's shoulder as he walked off. "Besides… I don't want you making the same mistake I did."

"Billy!" Simon screamed when Billy was already halfway down the hall. "Thank you…"

"No worries." Billy opened the door leading outside the infirmary and walked into the dusk.

* * *

**Dont forget to give me a helpful review! it really helps me! I hoped you like the chapter and see you in a few days.**


	3. Grand Massacre

**Disclaimer: This chapter doesnt have neither Marcy, Simon, or any of the protagonists, but its an introduction to the villain. This chapter is also very graphic, not for the faint of heart.**

* * *

Somewhere, within the snowy confines of the trees in a forest, lies an opening that can be viewed from the skies. Within this opening lies a barn, a barn which was home to about three to four survivors… not bandits, but survivors; people who were just living their lives, or rather, what was left of it. These people, both men, women and children, have lost many when the war started. Some by exposure, some by disease, and the rest were torn by bullets. But throughout their hardships, they decided to thrive, despite having lost their husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, children, and friends. They saw a second chance within their survival, a new beginning as some would say. Every day, they were lucky that they weren't exposed or have fallen ill. But today, their luck is about to change…

Two men ran out of the forestry, dashing towards the barn with haste. They could not believe what just happened. What turned out to be a simple run quickly turned into a shootout, between survivors and bandits. When they had left the barn, they took five men for a simple food and supply run, leaving another two men, armed with civilian semi-autos, to guard whatever they have left. Of the five men that left, ultimately, only two returned. They had managed to escape with their lives just barely. They picked up their speed, stomping on the icy cold ground littered with snow, making sure with each step that they don't slip. They pounded on the door until one of the women, somewhat elderly, opened the door with her brittle fingers. Inside, aside from the two men with rifles, were five women, whom three of them were no older than twenty-five, and three children, two girls and one boy. The two men rushed inside, reloading their weapons with ammunition. "It's not safe here. We have to move." But their words were too late. It was too late to pack everything they had and relocate; for now, all they could do was sit and watch, praying for forgiveness as the massacre before them was about to unfold…

Within the forestry, a man approaches the barn, smiling as he deeply inhales the icy cold air. Despite the terrible weather conditions, he continues to wear his daily attire, a tuxedo outfitted with the color green. He had a green hat, which covered his eyes. He didn't mind the cold… in fact, he enjoyed it. He enjoyed the pain and pleasure it brought him, and he took pleasure in the pain it brought others. He took another deep inhale, the icicles in the air freezing the inside of his nostrils. The pain reminded him of when he did coke. He gave another sick smile as he walked slowly towards the barn, with a sidearm in one hand.

The people in the barn had an open door. They readied their rifles as they saw him approaching. "Go away!" they announced themselves. "Go away or we will open fire!"

"Relax, bro!" He held both his hands up, smiling, unaffected by the barrel of the rifle aimed at his skull. "I just wanna talk." The tone in his voice was relaxed, almost giddy.

"We ain't got nothin' to talk about!" The man kept his rifle fixed on the green man. "Just leave us alone!"

"Oh, on the contrary my friend… we have plenty to talk about." The smile would not leave the green man's face. "You killed my men… and for that, I ask nothing more than reparations."

"You shot first."

"A warning shot. Not intended to wound or kill, but to scare." The green man took a few steps toward the barn, unafraid. "Look… I don't take the death of my comrades lightly. I bet you don't either. How 'bout you just give us some ammo and guns, and we'll call it even eh?" The man in the barn didn't budge his stance, not willing to give in to his demands. "Or…" the green man said playfully. "You could try to shoot me and have my men in the bushes kill you and your friends… How many kids you got in there? Three? We won't spare them."

The man in the barn looked toward his comrade and returned his gaze to the man in green. "If I agree, what makes me think you won't just kill us then?"

"Well… then you are just going to have to trust me?" The man in green took three steps forward, nearly coming into contact with the barrel of the rifle. "What do you say? Ammo or your family?"

The man looked towards his comrade again with his eyes, not turning his face away from the green demon of a man before him. He motioned a command with his eyes, telling the other man that no matter what choice they make, it all ends badly. That they will go down fighting for a chance to live rather than surrendering to death. The comrade, who had his rifle pointed towards the bushes in the forestry, where he saw a man hiding, opened fire. The enemy hiding in the bush was instantly killed.

Before the negotiator could react, the man in green already had his sidearm pointed into his frontal cortex. He open fired, spilling his bloody, shattered brains onto the snow. Gunshots came through the brush of the outlining forestry, piercing the barn's hollow walls. The comrade ran back inside, but the man in green, who was an amazing shot with the reflexes of a hawk, shot the comrade's kneecap out. As the man in green made his entry into the barn, the third armed rifleman armed his rifle. The intruder, with lightning speed, pulled his side arm and shot him. Bull's-eye. The rifleman dropped to the ground like a ragdoll, leaving one more armed soldier.

The comrade, who had his kneecap blown off, was crawling towards the rifle he dropped. With his right arm, he grabbed the butt of the rifle and was about to pull it closer, but it was kicked away from him by the green suited man, who pinned the comrade's arm down with the sole of his boot and then embedded a bullet into his right shoulder. "Hey fella…" the green suited man spoke, grinning madly. "Wanna see a magic trick!?"

"Fuck… you…"

The green man gave a hearty laugh as he pointed his handgun towards a wall and let three rounds loose. From outside came a loud, heart-wrenching scream, followed by a thud in the snow. The last man had fallen.

* * *

The green suited man just let the fellow comrade sit there, bathing in his own blood, as three of the enemy group stormed the barn. What a bloody mess the barn was. The walls were riddled with holes, and one of the bullets had actually killed one of the female children. One could tell which was the exit wound of the bullets trajectory, for the exit wound was always exponentially larger than the entry wound. The exit wound on the poor girl was her face. If one were to look at the girl now, she had no face. It was blown completely off. Fragments of her skull were all around the barn's floor, with her eyes blown completely out of her sockets. Had the others not been scared shitless, they would have hurled at the graphic scene, for it not only looked like a slaughter house, it smelled like one too. The green man looked down at the fallen comrade, who was soaking in his own blood. "You should have fucking listened to me…" he laughed maniacally. "And now you're family is going to pay!" He pointed to the only male child in the room, gesturing his guards to bring him over.

"No… no no no no… please no…"

The guards threw the boy to his father's bloody presence, where he hugged him, crying his heart out. The man wanted to tell his son that it was all going to be alright, but he couldn't. They were all going to die and they knew it, so he uttered his last words that he will ever say to him while he lives. "I love you, son."

The man in green pulls the boy by his tattered shirt, forcing him to kneel upright, over his father's midsection. He puts his pistol to the back of the boys head and pulls the hammer back. The girls in the back gasped. "This is what you did! You guys did this!" With that, he let his pistol roar through the barn and through the field surrounding them. The boy dropped down above his father torso, lifeless.

The father let out a cry of sorrow and pain as he looked to the female child, his only child left. "Run!" The child darted off through the barn door, evading the grasp of the guards.

The leader of the enemy looked at one of his henchmen, armed with a long barreled rifle. "Kill her." All it took the henchman to end her poor short life was to take a step out the door, ready his rifle, and open fire. Just one shot, and she plopped to the floor, dead. The women in the room sobbed as hard as they could as the man in green smiled at their suffering. He quickly turned around and with the remaining two bullets in his pistol, killed the two eldest woman in an instant, leaving the three youngest alive. "Now, you are going to watch as all of your friends suffer. And when they die, only then will you understand the true meaning of disobedience."

The three henchmen in the room all grabbed the women in unison, slamming them down on the floor. They ripped off their tattered clothing easily and fondled their bodies. They ravaged them from the inside, shoving their manhood into whatever opening they found. The girls screamed in pain as the man in green stared in pleasure. The father of the dead children cried his heart out, powerless to do anything. After the men were all done having their filthy pleasure, they shoved the ladies onto the floor and murdered them, one by one.

The green man, relishing in his victory, grabbed the rifle on the floor. The father was basically pleading for death at this point, but the unforgiving man in green did not even grant him is wish. He walks up to him and says, "I want you to remember this as you die. I want you to think about the man who killed you. Who massacred you, your family, and your friends." He pointed his newly acquired rifle at the father's head, in between his eyes. "My name is the Lich." Quickly, instead of blowing his face off, he points the gun towards the father's testicles and opens fire, ripping through him as he let out a deafening scream as he faded in and out of consciousness. The green man and the rest of his group quickly left the scene, closing the barn doors and leaving the poor father, who lost everything, to rot in the dark. The skies began to darken, for a new evil was approaching.

* * *

**Dont forget to leave a review and ask questions! the review helps me as a writer and i will answer the questions in the next installment, if it doesnt pertain to the plot. see you guys in a few days.**


	4. Lullaby

**Sorry its taken me so long to update. Getting into a University can be pretty demanding. :(**

**storygirl636: I know right... it was like... "*Pow* Right in the kisser!" lol sorry. bad joke timing. may they rest in peace.**

**Solar-Sickness: In my view, the Lich came about as a result of a person exposing themself to the Lich's well of power. The Lich possessed that person. He doesnt have or know of his magical abilities YET. After all, at this point, the Lich is only two months older than Marceline, and, like others, he is going to have to grow to learn those abilities.**

**Vicchavez007: I know. I blew my own mind when i wrote that chapter. Damn**

**Disclaimer: I know this chapter is pretty short.**

* * *

_Within the confines of her mind lies Marceline, bedridden and on the verge of death. She has never felt worse in her life so far and she just wanted it all to be over. She was tired of not having a home and of not having a family. Although Simon was the closest thing she had to a family, it still wasn't truly enough to fill the void that her father had left. She of course still loved her father very much, and despite not being there for her, she justified his every action, even though he was never there, even in her times of pain. Every minute, she begged for death, over and over again; and then something happened. The dark room surrounding her began to change, and although she had her eyes shut, she could sense it. _

_ The room suddenly morphed into her old bedroom in their quarantine zone. Suddenly, she felt warmer as she sensed another familiar presence in the same room as her. "Mommy?" she called faintly. "Mommy, is that you?" Marceline's eyes remained shut. _

_ "Yes honey… it's me." She replied. Her voice revitalized Marceline. Upon hearing her mother's gentle voice, her current outlook on life changed. She all of a sudden wanted to live again. She smiled as she heard her mother weep. "I'm sorry I let this happen to you. I should have been there. I shouldn't have relied on your father." _

_ "Mommy… you can't blame everything bad that happens on daddy. It wasn't his fault that this happened." Marceline heard her mother weep even harder. "It was no one's fault, mommy. Sometimes, things happen, and you just have to make the most of it…" Marceline felt the heat of her mother's hands as they touched hers. Marceline gave a weak smile, for it felt really comforting to feel her mother's touch again after so many years. _

_ "Oh honey…" her mother wept. "I never got a chance to tell you this… I'm so proud of you. I wish I was there to tell you that every single day back then…" She gently caressed Marceline's hand with her thumb. "I'm sorry honey… I'm so sorry…"_

_ "It's okay mommy. It's okay…"_

_ Her mother sniffled as Marceline could hear her wipe the tears from her eyes. "Get some rest sweetie… All will be better in the morning…"_

_ "Mommy…" Marceline spoke softly._

_ "Yes sweetie?"_

_ "Don't go…"_

_ "I won't honey… I'll stay right by your side…"_

_ Marceline took a deep breath, but she couldn't sleep, despite how comfortable she was. "Mommy? Can you sing me a lullaby?" She asked faintly._

_ Her mother sniffed one last time as she prepared her crackled voice to sing._

* * *

You are my sunshine,

my only sunshine.

You make me happy

when skies are grey

You'll never know, dear,

how much I love you,

so please don't take

my sunshine away…

so please don't take

my sunshine away…

* * *

Inside the infirmary, the doctor is observing Marceline resting, making sure that her vitals remain normal; however she cannot maintain constant overwatch over Marceline. She had fallen asleep numerous times, no matter how much caffeine she ingests. But she had to remain awake, for a lot can go wrong within a few minutes. So, without nothing else to do, she just sat there, staring at her patient, praying that Billy and Simon would return soon.

It had been a few hours since they left. Night had fallen and Marceline's lifeline was coming short. She was just barely hanging on to a thread at this point. Every moment, she prayed for them to bust through that door in a hurry. Every minute, she was disappointed until someone finally came through the door. It wasn't either Simon or Billy, but it was someone else that could help none the less. It was Jonah. Although she wasn't a doctor, she was a nurse before the whole entire world went to shit. She could easily and safely stabilize the patient in a matter of minutes. "Get some rest doctor. I can observe her for now."

The doctor stood up from her chair. "Thank you Jonah. I really needed it."

"No worries. I'll handle it from here."

"I'll be sleeping in the other room." The doctor approached the door. "If they come back…"

"I'll be sure to wake you up." Jonah spoke reassuringly.

The doctor nodded and left the room, leaving Jonah and Marceline, alone.

Jonah took a seat and sat down next to the dying woman. _Fucking Billy… What the fuck was he thinking? _She thought to herself. To her, it was another mistake, bringing two more survivors into their already starving group. _God dammit… what should I do! I can't let this happen. Either our group starves some more… or they die… _She buried her head into her hands in frustration. _But she's just a young kid… but the group… but she's got her whole life ahead of her… what about the kids in your camp?... your right…_ she stood up from her seat. _I have to do this… for my people._

She placed her hand on the railing to the bed as her hands were hovering over Marceline's nose. Tears shed down from her eyes as she was immediately about to press down. She knew that after this moment, she would never be the same again. She shut her eyes and was about to go through with smothering Marceline until…

"Mommy?" Marceline asked faintly, still panting and sweating. Jonah gasped as she retracted her hand from Marceline's face. "Mommy is that you?"

Jonah didn't hear Marceline speaking to her. She heard someone else. She heard Lilly, her daughter. She held back her tears, questioning her sanity. _Lilly? _She thought. _It can't be true… it just can't be…_ She looked around the room and even pinched herself. No, she wasn't going insane. It was all real.

"Yes honey… it's me." She wept. She didn't know how to feel. For once after a long, harsh period of time, she felt like she finally had some closure. She wept, over and over for the mistake she believed she made. "I'm sorry I let this happen to you. I should have been there. I shouldn't have relied on your father."

"Mommy… you can't blame everything bad that happens on daddy. It wasn't his fault that this happened." The bedridden girl replied. Jonah wept even harder. She really felt like she was talking to her daughter, years after what happened that fateful day. The sick girl continued. "It was no one's fault, mommy. Sometimes, things happen, and you just have to make the most of it…" Jonah placed her hand onto Marceline's, but in Jonah's heart, she truly believed she was holding Lilly. She believed that somehow, Lilly was channeling herself through Marceline. Marceline gave a weak smile, making Jonah excruciatingly happy as she sobbed even more. Her smile reassured her that Lilly was at peace.

"Oh honey…" Jonah cried. "I never got a chance to tell you this… I'm so proud of you. I wish I was there to tell you that every single day back then…" She gently caressed Marceline's hand with her thumb. "I'm sorry honey… I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay mommy. It's okay…"

She slowly wiped the tears from her eyes as she spoke. "Get some rest sweetie… All will be better in the morning…"

"Mommy…" Marceline/Lilly spoke softly.

"Yes sweetie?"

"Don't go…"

"I won't honey… I'll stay right by your side…"

Jonah saw Marceline inhale deeply. The resemblance between Marceline and Lilly was uncanny. Aside from the hair and eye color, they shape was identical. The voice seemed to be the same as well. She thought of Lilly over and over again, indulging herself as she became lost in her past. "Mommy?" Jonah looked down at Marceline/Lilly. "Can you sing me a lullaby?"

Jonah nodded and brushed the tears streaming down her face as she began.

* * *

_You are my sunshine,_

_ my only sunshine._

_ You make me happy_

_ when skies are grey_

_ You'll never know, dear,_

_ how much I love you,_

_ so please don't take_

_ my sunshine away…_

_ so please don't take_

_ my sunshine away…_

* * *

Marceline was now sound asleep, but Jonah knew she wouldn't last that much longer. Time was running short. Simon and Billy needed to make it back fast or else they would have to bury Marceline. Jonah stared at the clock, watching the seconds go by…

* * *

_Tick… Tick… Tick…_

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please drop a review and ask a question if youd like and i will answer it in the next installment.**


	5. Intubation

**Patrat7777: Sorry! I appreciate the review though!**

**Nephilim King Micheal: Hey! thanks for the review! BTW i havent been disregarding your reviews if ANY of you are wondering. I read every single one.**

**vicchavez007: yeah, it was one of those chapters when i re-read it, i was like "Woah..." I dont mean to boast, but i nearly cried multiple times while writing it.**

**VodnikGAZ: Here he is!**

**Disclaimer: an unusually high amount of medical terminology in this chapter. It's all explained for the most part though. I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

The clock struck midnight, and Billy and Simon were nowhere in sight. Jonah became worried because Marceline was running out of time. Marceline was battling her illness as long and hard as she could, but she wouldn't be able to hold on forever. Her lifeline was running short and she needed medical attention immediately. The fluid in her lungs were filling at a rapid rate (at least rapid for a disease), and with each passing hour, she is that much closer to drowning. Marceline's breath became shorter and shorter until one minute, when Jonah was observing Marceline's life lines, she began to choke.

The alarms went off, waking the doctor from her slumber. She burst in through the doors. "Doctor, what do we do?" asked Jonah.

"What we can…" said the doctor. "We need to find a way to drain the lungs before she drowns. We could try to perform thoracentesis with a small needle."

"What are her chances of survival?"

"Minimal… we needed the intubate her so she could breathe without using her lungs, but they aren't back yet, so this will have to do."

"So what do we do?" asked Jonah.

"We flip her around… cut her open. We can use a syringe to attempt to drain the fluid."

"Wait… she isn't anesthetized. Wont she feel everything?"

"That's right. You are going to have to hold her down," commanded the doctor. "If she makes a slight unpredicted movement, I could sever an artery. She would bleed to death in minutes." Jonah wore a look of horror on her face. She had never assisted in surgery before, despite being a nurse herself. She felt she never had the stomach for it. "You gonna be okay?" asked the doctor.

"I don't really have much of a choice," she replied as she wore her latex gloves.

The doctor also put on her gloves as they turned Marceline around, placing her face first on the bed. "Scalpel," ordered the doctor. Jonah placed the scalpel in her hands, trying to block all thoughts from her head so that she could concentrate on what was important: hold Marceline down while the doctor cut into her. The doctor wasn't also in the best of shape herself. She had only gotten at most two hours of sleep and she had never performed this operation under such conditions. She usually had the assistance of anesthetics but none were present at the time. Her hand trembled as it made its way down to Marceline's skin. She placed its cold steel onto her back and counted down… _1… 2…_

On her third count, two people busted into the room. It was Simon and Billy, holding all of the equipment they needed to performing the operation correctly. "Oh thank god!" Jonah screamed as she embraced Billy, who returned her hug.

"Okay doc, we have everything… well almost…" said the fatigued Simon. "We couldn't find any morphine."

"That's fine…" the doctor responded. "Now hand me the cannula."

"What's that?" asked Simon.

"The long, hollow needle!" Simon didn't hesitate to search his backpack. He pulled out the biggest, most intimidating syringe he has ever seen, and handed it to the doctor, who proceeded to rummage the backpack for a plastic bag and a sack. She put together a device, where the tube had one end attached to the plastic sack while the other end was attached to the needle. "You three!" she pointed at all the other persons in the room. "I am going to insert this into her lung. Since there are no anesthetics, she is going to feel everything. So I need all of your help. First off, we need to flip her back over. Second, I need all of you to hold her down as I perform thoracentesis."

"Whats that?" Simon asked.

"She is going to drain the fluid from her lungs," Jonah replied.

Everyone positioned themselves at both sides of Marceline, with two people on each side. "Ready… one… two.. three!" With all of their might, they lifted Marceline and flipped her over, facing upward again. She had been choking, trying desperately to hold on to dear life. The doctor motioned everyone to put pressure down onto Marceline, as she will try to resist treatment due to excruciating pain. "Alright. On the count of three, you all must stop her from squirming. Too much movement, and I could puncture an artery. Understand?"

Everyone nodded their heads as the doctor readied the cannula. "One… two… three!" She inserted the needle quickly into Marceline's side, sliding it carefully through the ribcage and into her left lung. The doctor released the end of the syringe and slowly, the bag began to fill with water, ounces at a time. Marceline began writhing in pain immediately, and as the other's press down on her, she stopped squirming and immediately fell unconscious. "Okay, that's all done… now for the next step… Intubation."

"What do you need?" Simon asked.

"The levels of oxygen in her body are too low," the doctor stated. "Give me the oxygen mask and the oxygen tank." At her command, Simon and Billy rushed in an oxygen tank, that had already been inside the room, but they couldn't use it because it would have done no help if Marceline's lung was filling to the brim with fluid. "Alright. I'm going to give her some oxygen so that she would have a reserve before we begin. While I am doing this, I need the laryngoscope."

"Which one is that again?"

"The scythe looking shit." Simon rummaged through his sack and pulled out a scythe-looking tool that has a light attached to the end of it. "Yeah… that's it," said the doctor. "Alright. Now I need to move the bed. These beds aren't like the mechanical ones that I am used to dealing with. I need her head leaned backwards so I could see her larynx." They immediately pushed the bed away from the wall and gently slid Marceline a couple inches upward. Her head was now slightly tilted backwards at the edge of the bed, providing a clear picture of the back of her throat. "Alright, now prepare the intubator." Simon pulled out a tube, with an inflatable edge. The doctor then inserted the laryngoscope into Marceline's throat to reveal the opening to her larynx, where she proceeded to enter the intubator. She immediately gave a sigh of relief. "Alright, I can handle the rest," said the doctor. "Off with you guys… I'll let you know when you could come back in." and with that, everyone left the room.

* * *

It had been a few minutes since they exited the room. Now all three of them were just sitting outside as the doctor did her duty. Simon just sat outside quietly, gently caressing his crown that was tied to his belt. _I can help her…_ Simon could hear it whispering in his ear. It startled him at first, for it had been a couple of years since he last wore it. _Let me help her… let me help you… _He was absolutely losing his mind. He could feel his skin become colder, his nose longer, and his beard ever growing. His hair was already white as snow. He knew one day that he was going to turn, and there was no stopping it. The most he could do was to protect Marceline, at least until she could survive on her own. As he tried to brush off the voices he heard in his mind, he lied down and attempted to get some sleep. He had a long day and he deserved it.

* * *

Down the hall from Simon were Jonah and Billy, who were sitting side by side, they closest they sat down together in years. There were so many things that Jonah had wanted to say. "Billy I-"

"No Jonah… I'm sorry. It had been my fault…" Billy interrupted.

Jonah chuckled. "Normally I would have agreed… but things are different now. When I saw her, I saw Lilly… and it made me think… I can't stay mad at you…" she reached over and gently grasped Billy's hand. "You did the best you could with what you had… You did your fatherly duty. You don't have to atone anymore…"

Billy began to sob. "Oh Jonah…"

Jonah held her crying husband in her arms. "It's okay, Billy. It's okay… She's at peace. She always had been." She kissed him on the forehead, and then the scalp, and finally, passionately, on the lips. The day had been long for all of them, and in the end, they all deserved what they got. Marceline was finally stable, which gave Simon some closure, and Billy, who constantly blamed himself for his daughter's death, finally was forgiven, and not just by god, but by his wife as well. That night, they all slept in that corridor, and even though it wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, by god it was the best sleep they had in a very long time.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry for it being so short. I kinda had to write it on the fly because at the very last minute, the chapter i had written up IN PLACE OF THIS ONE was a complete filler, and i didnt want to give you guys that. So Once again, i hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review as well as comments and feel free to ask questions. I will see you guys in a few days!**


	6. Since I've Been Loving You

**Patrat7777: Thanks! I will try not to disappoint.**

**VodnikGAZ: Exactly what happened. I assumed that the crown had its clutches on Simon directly at the end of Simon and Marcy episode. He never wore it since, but its too deep for him. He was able to keep the voices in his head quiet, but it eventually caught up with him.**

**storygirl636: for what?**

**Nephilimkingmicheal: Yeah, thank god.**

**Vicchavez007: Thanks for the indepth review! really appreciate it! **

**Disclaimer: Sorry for the late update! been really busy! Also, this chapter is really long!**

* * *

_Within a field of beautiful, vibrant flowers ran two beautiful girls, one dressed in ragged clothing, had raven black hair, and red eyes, while the other was dressed in an elegant gown, had fire-red hair and baby blue eyes. They danced within the flowers joyfully, eventually stopping underneath the shade of a tall tree. "Having fun Marceline?" asked the red-haired woman. _

_ "Yeah…" Marceline panted. "God I don't remember the last time I had this much fun!" They sat there, catching their breath, bathing in the sunlight. "Hey Lilly?"_

_ "Yes, Marcy?"_

_ "What's death like?" Marceline asked shyly._

_ "Well…" Lilly turned her head away. "it depends on how you die, really. You see, you can either die quickly and painlessly, or you can go slowly, painfully… but you get a second chance to see the ones you love before you pass…"_

_ "Which one did you choose?"_

_ "You don't choose. It just happens. But I thank God every single moment that the second option was given to me. The pain was worth it. That I was able to tell my parents how much I loved them…"_

_ "I see…" Marceline looked away, upset that she even asked. "I'm so sorry."_

_ "Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong." Lilly fell on her back, gently crashing into the green grass beneath them. "If you have any more questions, feel free to ask."_

_ "Okay then… Is there a heaven or hell?"_

_ "Nope… well… not exactly… only the dead worlds."_

_ "Dead worlds?" Marceline was curious. She finally got some insight into how life is after death, something that she may have to experience someday. _

_ "That's right. Fifty of them."_

_ "Wow, that's a lot." Marceline also fell down on her back, looking into the sunlight from underneath the tree branches. "So even though someone has done terrible things in their life, they go through the same process as a good person?"_

_ "No… not exactly. Whenever a terrible person dies, they don't always have a chance to go through all of the dead worlds. It all depends on the extent and degree of their crime. If a person or a being is truly evil, they never leave the first dead world upon death."_

_ "Did you have to go through the first dead world?"_

_ "Of course, everyone does."_

_ "How was it like?" Marceline was really curious. _

_ "Well, the journey through all fifty dead worlds is a horrifying yet humbling adventure. It allows you to question your thought processes and helps you search within. It allows you to see terrors from beyond, and beauty from nearby. It's every experience and no experience at all." Lilly lost herself in her thought before continuing. "Anyway, back to the question. The first dead world was terrifying… absolutely terrifying."_

_ "How so?"_

_ "It's Hell… literally. All existing descriptions of hell do not even scratch the surface on describing what this Hell is. Most of the true evils that exist don't even make it past the first dead world."_

_ "Wow… talk about eternal damnation…"_

_ "Yep… Anyway… the process is we all start from the first dead world and then we make our way up to the 50th dead world…"_

_ "Heaven?"_

_ "Sort of…"_

_ Marceline felt a sudden jolt move within her body. She looked at her hands and knees, only to find herself becoming transparent. The setting surrounding the two was also fading. "What's happening?" she asked._

_ "You're waking up…" Lilly gave her a hug and kissed Marceline on the forehead, making her blush a little bit. "When you wake up, tell my mommy and daddy that I love them, okay?"_

_ Marceline nods and shuts her eyes, accepting the feeling that was now enveloping her._

* * *

Marceline wakes up in a small, green room as she is lying down on a bed, with Simon at her bedside, sleeping. She had little recollection of the events that transpired while she was sick. She had no idea where she was, but it did not terrify her at all because Simon, her guardian angel, was next to her. When she looked at Simon, she had thought about the previous thirteen years they had together. She was grateful for every moment; thankful that Simon had done so much just to keep her alive, fed, clothed, and genuinely happy. It made her smile the most she could, especially with a tube stuck in her mouth. She rolled her eyes around her body, examining the devices that are hooked to her.

The first thing she noticed was the tube coming from her mouth. She moved her hand in an attempt to remove the intubator, but she had been restrained. _Doctor's orders, I guess._ She thought. There were a few tubes sticking out from her neck. One was to take blood samples and the others were for medications. The liquefied medication sat on a tall pole, dripping down into the tube that led into her neck. She thought that that was all of the weird looking devices that were stuck into her body until she adjusted herself. She felt an intensely sharp pain in the left side of her chest. She couldn't see it, but she could tell that there was a giant needle deep within her. She tried not to move, fearing that she might nudge the needle again. The doctor soon appeared through the door, waking Simon up in the process.

"It's nice to see you awake, Marceline. How are you feeling?" the doctor asked.

Marceline couldn't talk so she raised her thumb towards the ceiling.

"That's good." The doctor made her way to the computer next to Marceline. On the computer screens were Marceline's vitals and her oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. "Well… you seem to be recovering extremely fast, even faster than the majority of my patients." She knelt down beside her, holding Marceline's wrists in her hands. "How 'bout we remove some of the tubes?" she asked.

Marceline quickly raised her thumb. There was absolutely no way she would object to that, but before the doctor proceeded, Marceline motioned her fingers in a pattern that mimicked a pencil. Simon quickly stood up and searched for the nearest clipboard he could find and placed the pencil within Marceline's hand, sliding the clipboard underneath her writing hand. She quickly scribbles a question down onto the paper. Simon attempts to read it, but the handwriting is nearly illegible, since Marceline can't exactly see what she is writing. "How… long… was… I… out?" Marceline nods.

"You've been out for about a week." Simon replied. "These guys were kind enough to help stabilize you. The doctor did her part, but there were others. They will be in tomorrow."

"Alright…" the doctor continued. "Let's get those tubes out. That way, you can talk to each other normally." The doctor proceeded to grab a needle-less syringe and inserted it into the other end of the intubator. Simon remained at her bedside, clutching her hand. "Alright Marcy, this is going to feel slightly unpleasant, so just bear with us, okay?"

Marceline nodded as the doctor pulled back the rear of the syringe, deflating the tube that was lodged inside Marceline's larynx. "Alright Marcy… get ready… one… two… three…" The doctor gently pulled out the intubator from Marceline's throat. It was the strangest experience that Marceline had ever gone through. She would live to remember that moment for the rest of her life; all the details from the feeling of having a small hand pulled from your throat all the way to the disgusting taste it left in your mouth. Marceline nearly gagged as she begged the doctor.

"W… wa…. Water.." she begged in her crackled voice.

"Marcy, you went a week without using your throat. Unfortunately, if you do that, you forget how to swallow. So for now, you need to take baby steps, okay? We will get you some ice cubes. It will do the same thing." The doctor clapped her hands as she continued the procedure. She prepared a pack of gauze, baby wipes and tape. She wiped down the area surrounding the cannula (the long needle), causing Marceline to flinch in pain. "Okay Marcy, I am not going to lie about this… without anesthetics, this is going to hurt. Just bear with us, okay?"

Marceline grumbled as she nodded, clutch Simon's hand tightly, embracing herself for the coming pain. The doctor removed the stitches holding the needle in place. "Ready… one… two…" she yanked it out carefully, causing Marceline to scream in agonizing pain. Marceline grasped Simon's ice cold fingers so tightly, she nearly crushed them. The doctor quickly covered the bandage up with the gauze and tape. "See… that wasn't so bad, was it?"  
"That fucking hurt!" Marceline screamed. She sounded as if she had been smoking for decades. "Now please… get me some ice cubes. I'm really thirsty."

"Coming up," replied the doctor. "Tomorrow, we start physical therapy. You need to learn how to walk again. Simon, you need anything?"

"No thanks, doc," Simon replied as the doctor left the room. He turned his attention back towards Marceline. "How are you feeling, Marcy?"

"Like shit…" Marceline groaned. "What happened to me, Simon?"

"You caught pneumonia, a deadly disease that fills your lungs with fluids, causing you to drown." Simon looked down at her hand, which is still within his grasp. "You nearly died."

"Wow…" was all she could say.

"No… that's not what you should be surprised about," Simon continued. "What was surprising was that you survived for pretty damn long. You are as tough as nails, Marcy. I'm proud of you." Simon caressed her hand gently with his thumbs while giving her a heartwarming smile.

"Aww… thanks Simon." Marceline suddenly felt tired again, nearly drifting off to sleep. "I love you Simon," she said quietly.

"I love you too Marcy." He continued to gently rub her hand with his icy cold thumbs. "Get some rest. You will need it tomorrow."

* * *

The next day, physical therapy began. Marceline, with the little amount of energy she had, was forced to take a step outside. They exited the infirmary, with Marceline leaning all her weight into a walker with the assistance of Simon and Billy at her sides. Jonah and the doctor quickly followed her with a wheelchair immediately behind her, just in case she falls over.

It had been Marceline's first time outside the infirmary, so she got a good look of the military base they were in. The outer perimeter was walled off, keeping toxic away from the people in the base. Atop the walls and fences were guards, defending the camp should anything happen. The snow had stopped falling, revealing a little bit of sunlight through the gray skies. Marceline had never seen a sight so beautiful in her life. For once, she felt like they could finally settle down. Over, near the edge of the base, was a landing pad, where the helicopter sat. There were rows and rows of small bunkers, with each one housing a family. There couldn't have been more than sixty people camping.

They hobbled Marceline over to Billy's old quarters. Marceline never fell once during this trip. "This is where you guys will be staying," said Billy.

"Are you sure you could spare the room?" asked Simon.

"Of course… Jonah and I made up, so I am in her quarters again." He wrapped one arm around his wife, pulling her in for a kiss. "Anyway, lets open this bad boy up, yeah?" Billy pulled out a set of keys from his pocket and slide them into the lock, twisting the handle and opening the door. Jonah turned the light on, revealing the queen sized bed, a record player, record vinyls, and a red bass guitar hooked up to an amplifier.

Marceline looked in amazement, like a kid in a toy store. "Is that…"

"A red Fender 1951 Precision Bass? Yep."

Marceline looked up at Billy with puppy eyes. "Can I touch it?"

"Yeah! Go ahead." Simon and Billy helped Marceline onto the bed. Billy picked up the red bass guitar and placed it onto Marceline's lap. He turned on the amp and allowed Marceline to play. She strummed each individual string gaily, smiling with each strum. "You know… you can have it."

Marceline gasped. "Really?"

"Yeah. I don't have the time to teach you how to play, but I have a book here somewhere. I'll find it for you." Billy then hands Simon the keys to their new quarters and leaves the room with his loving wife.

"Wait!" screamed Marceline. The couple turned around, turning their attention towards her. "Your daughter loves you... both of you."

Jonah smiled back at her. "We know." They then walks out of the room, hand in hand.

* * *

"Are you sure you wanna give up the bass?" asked Jonah. "That is your prized possession after all."

"Yeah I'm sure. I don't have the time for it. Also, I think she would make better use of it than I ever would." He gave her a kiss. "C'mon, lets get some alone time."

Jonah giggled as they walked off to their quarters.

* * *

Later that night, while preparing MREs (Meals Ready to Eat), Simon flipped through the records as Marceline toyed with her newly acquired bass while reading 'Bass Guitar for Dummies.' Simon couldn't help but admire Billy's taste in music. The artists on the records ranged from Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Queen to Iggy Pop, Bon Jovi, Journey, Metallica, and the Misfits. "Hey Marcy…"

"Yeah Simon?"

"Wanna listen to one of my favorite songs?"

"Sure!"

Simon put on one of the Led Zeppelin albums and placed the needle in the record player onto the point in the record where the song "Since I've Been Loving You" began to play. The incredibly jazzy electric guitar came on, followed by the bass. The rhythms, sound, and harmonics of the music flowed through Marceline's body like water passing through a river. She knew from this moment that she wanted to be a rock star, and she knew that this band, Led Zeppelin, would be her all time favorite band. She swayed back and forth to the beat and soon afterwards, about halfway into the song, the MREs were done.

Simon handed a pack of meat, veggies, and mashed potatoes to Marceline and kept some fish and chips to himself. "That song is badass Simon!"

"Yeah I know. Led Zeppelin rocks! But it's not to say that they are the only good band out there." Simon hands Marceline a spoon. "Billy has great taste in music. You should listen to the Beatles. They are like the messiahs of modern rock."

"Will do." Marceline said while chomping down on some meat.

Simon noticed that Marceline was doing her best to weasel her way out of eating her greens. "Eat your greens Marcy. You need your strength for tomorrow."

"What's happening tomorrow?" she grumbled.

"We are going to teach you how to handle a gun. You seem to be recovering really fast, so you should be able to manage."

"Why?" she asks in a childlike manner.

"You are a little older than seventeen. You need to learn how to survive."

"Okay…" she begrudgingly agrees. "So… how is the crown?"

Simon dropped his spoon into his MRE bag as he choked on his food. "Ahem… Its good…"

Marcy could read Simon like an open book. She knew he wasn't telling her the whole truth. "Then why do you really want me to defend myself Simon? Don't lie to me."

Simon wolfs down the rest of his food and drinks some water before he continues. "Okay Marcy. I won't lie to you." He looks away, avoiding eye contact with her. "The truth is… I'm too far gone." He holds up his hands to his face. "My skin isn't reverting back to its original state, despite the years that have passed. My nose and facial hair isn't going back to normal either and what really made me realize that I can't go back… Was the fact that I am hearing the crown call my name." Marceline gasped in horror, tears filling her eyes. She didn't want to lose her only true companion, her father figure. She began to cry. Simon embraces her with all his love. "Marcy, I wish there was another way. I don't have long left, and you need to be ready for that. I love you Marcy… I really do."

She sniffs and hugs him back. "I love you too Simon… I don't want to lose you… you're all I have left and I don't know what I'd do without you." Simon couldn't respond. What could he say? All he could do right now was to hold her close as she cried herself to sleep in his arms.

When she finally did fall asleep, Simon kissed her on the scalp. "Goodnight, Marcy." He gently placed her down on the queen sized bed and laid his own bed on the floor, where he fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Dont forget to leave a review and feel free to comment and ask questions! See ya in a few days!**

**Edit: thanks Use A Kat for catching the errors! really appreciate it!**


	7. No Escape

**Use A Kat: Thanks for the in depth review! I am not easily scared by long reviews, for they are usually the most helpful. After re-reading the chapter, i caught that error with "patience," but i was kinda too lazy to correct it. Im not good with my Bass guitars either, but yes, they were supposed to be the same one. It's just i have a Telecaster, and it looked really similar to that bass. I had always envisioned Marceline with red eyes, so i dont really know about that. I cant exactly pay attention to it in the show because their eyes are just dots lol like you said. Yeah, Marceline's recovery rate is supposed be exponentially fast, but we will get to handling recoil soon enough. Thanks for the in depth review! really appreciate it. I might just have to go and fix the Typos and the Telecaster thing now. should have done my research on that before hand.**

**Thanks for the review and for the support guys! really means alot to me!**

**Disclaimer: this is a weird chapter.**

* * *

Simon awakes to the freezing atmosphere around him. Usually he isn't bothered by low temperatures, but this time, it was abnormally cold, lower than his body temperature. What was worse, was that he couldn't move. He was paralyzed from head to toe. The only thing that he had control over was his eyeballs. His heart began to slowly increase in rate as he circled the room with his eyes. None of the lights were on, but the room was lit from the moonlight shining through the glass on the door. He was mentally startled to find a figure at his feet, slowly crawling up to him. Soon enough, he was on him, slowly crawling on all fours, like an insect. Simon's heart began to race, thinking that this evil monster was going to engulf him. He tried to shut his eyes, but he couldn't. Suddenly, the figure jolted, moving up, placing his eyes in front of Simon.

His face horrified Simon to no end. It was the face of an old, broken man with pitch-black eyes. Simon felt like it was staring into his soul. Within the black eyes, he could see all the horrors, the evil within. Although the evil wasn't moving his lips, Simon could hear what he was saying in his mind.

* * *

_No escape, no escape, no escape…_

* * *

The words rang softly in his head like a mantra, and as much as he wanted to, he couldn't shut his eyes to shield himself. After what seemed like an eternity, the entity finally released him, floating through the door to their quarters.

* * *

Simon jolted awake immediately, thanking the lord that it was all just a dream. He still had an eerie feeling though, because the room was in the exact shape as it was in his slumber; illuminated by moonlight coming from the window on the door. He got up and examined his surroundings, but he noticed that Marceline wasn't in bed. In fact, the bed was a mess, for it seems as if she left in a hurry. "Marceline?" Simon called. No response. _Where could she have gone to?_ He made his way to the light switch, which was next to the entrance to the room; however, as he neared it, he became out of reach. A rather puzzling and concerning event because Simon could swear that the wall had just stretched away from him, which wasn't possible. He stepped forward and reached for it again, and again the wall stretched away. _What the fuck?_ Simon reached for the light once more and again, the wall backed away from him, but this time it stretched the room into a long corridor. Simon darted all the way to the end of the corridor and finally turned on the light switch.

The long corridor surrounding him lit up, revealing brick walls painted white. The area that was once his room had now turned into a cell, similar to the cells in insane asylums. The room, however, remained stretched. It was not the change of setting that frightened Simon the most, but rather it was the inscriptions all over the walls that were written in blood, and the slightly louder chanting within his mind.

* * *

_No escape, no escape, no escape…_

* * *

He covered his ears as he fell to his knees. "Stop! Just stop!" he yelled. After a few minutes, the chanting finally ceased and Simon stood up, only to find a new horror. At the other end of the corridor, next to his bed, was a child in a white gown, similar to a long white t-shirt. He also had long white hair that stretched passed his shoulders, covering his face. Simon was reluctant to approach the boy, but after Simon found the door to be locked, he had no other choice. He slowly walked towards the boy, scared shitless. He tried to keep his attention diverted from the walls, but it wasn't any better because looking at the strange boy was just as frightening.

Simon finally reached the boy. "Who are you?" he asked in a fearful whisper. The boy didn't answer. Simon gulped as he knelt down before him and parted the hair from his face, revealing his bloodied face and pitch-black demonic eyes. He jumped away in horror as he heard a low growl from the boy. He… no… _It_ began to approach him, walking slowly at first, but as Simon made a run for the door, the room began to retract to its original size and slowly transformed back into his quarters. The boy, though, was still slowly approaching him. When Simon had reached the door, he tugged at the handle. "Help!" he yelled, but to no avail. He tugged and wrestled at the handle until he heard a _clank!_ The door handle had broken off. "Shit." He turned around and the boy had turned into a man, the same height as Simon. Within the next second, _it _had his bloody hand wrapped around Simon's throat, peering its black eyes into Simon's soul.

Simon screamed as flashes of terrible things raged through his head. Images of blood, people being impaled, dismembered, and decapitated by ice. All the screams of the innocent and guilty alike, bleeding mercilessly on the icy floor. Soon, Simon had awoken in a camp amidst a blizzard, that had been lit ablaze. He had awoken upright with blood all over his coat, his hands, and his face. He looked around in horror, as he was in the middle of a sea of dead bodies. Those visions were not visions at all, rather what he could recall as the things he had done while unconscious. With nowhere left to move but forward, he began to walk, trying his hardest not to step on the dead.

He found himself walking towards a giant shard of ice implanted into the ground. How he had managed to get there, he had no idea. He stared at the ice block in horror, as someone was crucified onto it. It was his beloved Marceline, lifeless. _No this can't be real! It can't be! _He reached his hand upwards and as he was about to caress her face, the once lifeless body sprang to life with a sudden jolt, staring back at Simon, with demonic black eyes.

"No escape! No escape! No escape!"

The entire sea of dead began to chant it as well, and Simon turned around to avoid looking at the horror in front of him. But behind him was another terror. It was his fiancée, Betty, staring right at him with the demon eyes, giving him a sickening smile…

* * *

"Simon! Simon wake up!"

Simon was jolted awake by Marceline, who was out of breath. She still hasn't made a full recovery from her stay in the infirmary. He examined his surroundings to find he was back in his room. "Marcy…"

"You were screaming in your sleep. You were scaring me," said Marceline. Simon couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. Despite Marceline being seventeen, she still had somewhat the mindset of a child.

"Don't worry, Marcy… it was only a nightmare."

"Oh okay…" Simon helped Marceline back onto the bed and covered her in the blanket. "Simon, could you sleep with me up here?" she asked. "I'm scared."

"Of course, sweetie." He tucked himself in, sitting upright against the wall as Marceline snuggled into his lap, holding her precious Hambo. Soon, she had fallen asleep, snoring rather loudly, but Simon was too terrified to go to sleep again. After that night, the words kept chanting in his head…

* * *

_No escape, no escape, no escape…_

* * *

**Anyway, sorry for updating late. I had planned to update yesterday, but i fell asleep. Dont forget to leave a review and comments. Feel free to ask questions but dont try to make me spoil it! See ya in a few days!**


	8. Black Dog

**storygirl636: Yes i know what it is. Not a big fan of Autotune though.**

**Jjay554: Billy will also be covered as a part of this story as I plan for it to have to plots: Simon and Marcy's story, and Billy's story.**

**vicchavez007: hmmm... that cant be good.**

**Sorry i have been MIA. Its getting harder to find time to write this. I might have to extend my writing time from every other day to maybe 3-7 days. i know its a long time, but bear with me. times are hard right now.**

**Disclaimer: Sorry once again.**

* * *

The next afternoon, Simon and Marceline were driven by Rook to a nearby field for target practice and firearms training. Simon made sure to leave his crown in his quarters, still shaken from his nightmare. Outside the moving vehicle, they were passing through gorgeous fields of flowers and trees. Marceline stared at the fields in awe. She had never seen such an amazing sight because it was the first time the sun shined in her life. The smell of the bright yellow flowers reassured her that things were finally looking up. The road still had quite a bit of water on it from the melting snow, but it wasn't enough to hinder the car they were driving. Simon looked at Rook, concerned. "Wont the gunshots attract all of the toxic in the area?"

"Oh yeah, it would… not to mention any bandits that want our weapons." Simon couldn't tell whether or not he was serious or joking. Rook gave a loud chuckle. "Man, don't trip. It's a private place. No one would ever think of it. No toxic around neither."

Simon gave a sigh of relief as he slouched back into his seat. Up ahead of them was a crossroad, a four-way intersection that was surrounded by trees. Speed and stop signs didn't matter anymore. There was no one around to heed them and the laws of government didn't apply in this post apocalyptic world. Simon, out of habit, observed the intersection for oncoming cars when he noticed something rather strange. On the edge of the road up near the crossroad, there was a figure, dressed in nothing but white. Simon squinted his eyes in an attempt to make out what it was. He then looked at the rearview mirror and to his surprise, neither Marceline nor Rook paid the figure any attention. Simon kept staring at the upcoming figure and when they had finally passed it, he glared right into its dark eyes for a second.

Nightmarish murders began to flash in his mind. Brutal tortures, bloody decapitations, icy impalement, all of the sorts that had happened in his dream were now flashing before him once more. He stared in horror as within seconds, thousands of lives were torn apart, literally, at his own hands. Villages destroyed and no one lived. When the flashes finally stopped, he found himself in the dark crevasses of his mind, surrounded by white-robed figures. They all chanted one phrase, the phrase that had haunted him throughout the whole day…

* * *

_No escape, no escape, no escape…_

* * *

He was finally awoken by Marceline, who pointed out that they had finally reached the shooting gallery. Simon stepped outside the vehicle to discover that the landscape chosen for the shooting gallery was absolutely beautiful. Bees suckled on the nectar of gorgeous flowers and the birds whistled from the tree branches of the redwoods. It was a small field in the center with a wooden fence and barbed wire. On the fence were signs and bullet holes, suggesting that they had used this place before. From the car, Rook pulled out a small table and placed all the weapons they had brought. The firearms they had were handguns and PDWs, which some would refer to as baby assault rifles. Normal sized rifles would be too big for Marceline to handle, but PDWs would be just fine, as suggested by Billy himself. Rook was just there, smoking his cigarette while sitting on the hood of the car, holding his rifle while supervising.

Marceline looked around with her hands in her jeans, completely clueless as of what to do next, so Simon hands her a handgun. "Alright, Marcy… you ready?"

She sighs, "Sure…" She didn't seem too happy about firearms and Simon knew why. She knew how dangerous they were and what they were capable of, and let's not forget what they had done. It was because of guns that Marceline had lost her mother; she was shot in the back of the head as punishment for helping Marceline escape. It all ran through her head as she grabbed the handgun, emotionlessly. "So what do I do?"

"Alright… Now first things first. This is not a toy, okay?"

"I know, Simon," she said, slightly irritated.

"Good… now pull the top back." Simon demonstrated. "Make sure it's not loaded." At his command, Marceline pulled the top of the gun back, revealing the empty chamber.

"Nothing inside it."

"Good… good. Now I'm going to show you how to load it." Simon picked up the empty magazines from the ground along with the box of 9mm rounds. "Just follow what I do," he stated. Together, they loaded the magazines one round at a time, pushing them down until it was filled and then they started working on another one. "Anyway, how are you feeling Marcy?"

"I dunno… a little peeved I guess."

"I know… this won't take longer than it has too, I promise. I know how much you dislike these things…"

"It's not that… I guess I'm just scared, Simon. I'm not sure I can do this. I'm not sure I can survive without you…" She sniffed.

"Hey hey there…" he gently placed his cold hand on her cheek, wiping her tears. "Marcy, you are without a doubt, one of the strongest and smartest people I have ever known. You will be fine, even on your own."

She nodded as she finished loading her magazine with rounds. "Thanks Simon. I really needed that."

"No problem. Are you ready to continue?"

"Yes," she nodded again.

"Okay, so load your mag into your gun like so." He demonstrated, sliding the magazine up the butt of the handgun. "Now pull the top to load the chamber." They both pulled the top of the gun in unison, making simultaneous clanking metallic sounds. At this point, Simon stepped over to Marceline and grasped her arms.

"Simon, what are you doing?" she blushed.

"I'm showing you proper posture. It's one thing to know how to pull the trigger. It's another to know how to shoot."

She giggled a little. "Okay Simon."

"Anyway…" he continued. "Feet apart, like so." He placed his left foot about a full step in front of his right. "Now point the gun down range." She pointed the gun towards the target and Simon adjusted her arm positions correctly. "Now lean forward, flex your arms, and pull the trigger," he directed, holding tightly onto her arms just in case the recoil was too strong for her to handle.

She let three rounds down range, each shot throwing her arms back, despite Simon holding her arms down. "Try again…" She let another three rounds down range, this time having better control over the recoil. "Good... one more time…" Finally, she let the last few rounds out and the slide locked back. This time, she had much more control.

"Whoa… what happened? Did it break?" asked Marceline, looking at the gun.

"No. When it does that, it means it's just empty. Now eject the mag like so…" Simon instructed her to push a button near the bottom of the trigger, releasing the magazine from the gun. "Now load another mag into the gun and push the lever on the side." Marceline followed his instructions and pressed the lever, releasing the slide back into its original position. "Now give it another try."

"Without your help?" she inquired with her puppy eyes.

"Awww…" he placed his hand on her head. "Yeah… don't worry. I'll be here so nothing would happen." Marceline pointed the gun down range. "Just remember what I taught you." She looked back at Simon and nodded, returning her gaze back at her target.

_Bam!... Clank!... Bam!... Clank!... Bam!... Clank!..._

From the forestry, came an applause. Everyone turned their attention to a figure a stepping out of the shrubbery, wearing a green tuxedo and hat. Within his mouth was a pipe and on his fingers were rings with emerald gems. The rings made a clanking noise as he clapped his hands together. "Wow… she's a great shot," he said. Marceline crept up next to Simon in fear.

Rook threw his cigarette onto the ground, stomping it out before the forest catches on fire. "Who the fuck are you?"

"I have many names... but the most common is the 'Lich'." The man emptied his pipe onto the ground. "My men are short of supplies. I have wounded, so if y'all would be so kind to help us out with supplies, we would be more than happy to-"

"Liar!" Rook interrupted, forcing the Lich to become a little more serious. "First off, you say you lack supplies for your 'wounded', yet you seem to find time to scavenge for fancy green tuxedos and emerald rings. And what's a southerner from the Americas doing all the way on the opposite side of the world anyway?"

The Lich gave a disturbing giggle. "Alright then… Let's try this." He pulled out a revolver from his green blazer. "Take me to your camp or you all die."

They just stood there silent for a moment. The only thing they heard was the sound of nature; birds chirping, bees buzzing, and small animals crawling in the trees. Simon, with every single passing second, wished with all his heart that he had brought the crown with him. He looked around, assessing the situation. It seemed as though no one was in the bushes. The Lich was alone, and that made Simon question what he was up to. Before he could think any further, Rook snapped to ready his rifle and before he could aim it, the Lich fired off a round in his revolver, nicking his arm. This gave enough time for Marceline, with her quick, demonic reflexes, aimed her handgun at the Lich in a flash and unloaded her entire magazine into the demon in green. The heat of the moment left her gasping as the Lich fell to the ground, lifeless.

Simon looked at Marceline in shock and concern. "Marcy…"

"I think I'm gonna be sick," she said, heaving. She knelt down to the floor as she was about to expel from her body and all Simon could do was hold onto her. She barfed all of her breakfast out and she suddenly felt weak again. Rook was behind them, prepping the car for takeoff.

"We need to go," said Rook, clutching his arm. "If he found us, the others aren't that far behind."

Simon nodded and carried Marceline into the backseat, tucking her underneath the seatbelt. Sometimes, Simon would completely forget that Marceline was still recovering from her illness. She didn't eat anything much for a little more than an entire week and all of a sudden, she suddenly began eating solid foods again, which wouldn't have been good on anyone. They quickly packed everything they had and left the scene in a hurry.

A half hour into the drive, they nearly reached the crossroads. Simon could tell something strange was going on. He could sense it, and it wasn't just him, for Marceline also felt uneasy. They scanned the passing wilderness for anything suspicious, and it wasn't until they hit the intersection when they saw a large pickup truck, under the camouflage of trees, approaching them from their left. The truck t-boned the driver's side, sending the car flipping into a tree. Simon reached his hand over to in an attempt to protect Marceline, which successfully saved her life. The scream Simon heard from Marceline's mouth would be one to haunt him in his dreams from that point forward.

* * *

Simon awoke in the aftermath, on the wet ground on the side of the road. There were men scouring their car for supplies, pulling out the rifles, handguns, and ammo. Simon looked around for Marceline, who was nowhere in sight. The bandits pulled out a lifeless body from the wrecked car. Simon held his breath, afraid that it was Marceline that had been killed. It wasn't Marceline who was killed in the accident, but Rook. Simon let go of his breath as another familiar figure stepped out of the shrubbery; a man in a green tuxedo: the Lich. "Impossible! We killed you…" Simon gasped as he clutched the left side of his ribcage in pain.

"Foolish man… I can't simply be killed." He grinned hysterically as he pulled out his revolver and placed the barrel on Simon's forehead. "In two days, we will have an exchange… I want all the supplies, ammo, and weapons y'all have, in exchange for the little girl… There will be no negotiations. It's my way, or she dies. Understand?"

Simon didn't answer. He just sat there, staring at the revolver pointed at him.

"We will meet back at the shooting gallery. Be there." With that, the Lich pulled the revolver away and raised his boot, stomping Simon in the face, knocking him out.

* * *

**Dont forget to leave reviews and comments. Also ask questions. Life is busy right now, so i need extra time. I will post a new chapter as soon as i can. see you guys soon.**


	9. When the Levee Breaks

**Hey guys! sorry ive been MIA for a while now, but ive been really busy with life. But with some more free time, ive actually been inspired to write again. I had the whole story planned, but i just been lacking the inspiration to write, but now i am trying to get back into the swing of things. Sorry for being MIA again.**

**Solar-Sickness: The green suit the Lich wears is kind of a distinct color. Its what people think of visually when they want to recognize him. If it was any other color, people probably wouldnt think of the Lich. As for being from south america, thats where all the nukes went off. It would make sense that the birth place of the Lich would be there, since he is a creation from the blast. I also thought it would be kinda cool, i guess.**

**vicchavez007: his story is coming up soon.**

**Disclaimer: Thanks for being soo supportive! is without a doubt one of the best communities i have encountered.**

* * *

Later at dusk, Simon awoke in the infirmary, surrounded by Billy, Jonah, and the Doctor. He awoke, bandaged and nearly broken. "What happened?" he asked.

Jonah stepped up. "When you guys never returned, we went searching for you guys. We found the car wrecked beside the road…"

"What happened?" asked Billy.

Simon lowered his head as he proceeded to inform them of the events that transpired that day. He told them of the Lich, a mysterious man in a green suit. He told them about the wreck, how it killed Rook. And finally, he told them that Marceline had been taken. "We must find her!" Simon exclaimed.

"Whoa whoa," said the doctor as she held Simon in place. "You suffered a concussion and major cuts and bruises. You shouldn't even be walking."

"Doctor please." Simon brushed the doctor away. "She was my responsibility. I'm really all she has left. I need to do this." The doctor pulled away slowly, accepting Simon's fatherly responsibility.

"How are we going to locate her?" asked Jonah. "We don't have any leads."

Billy pulled up a chair and sat down, thinking of a plan. "Hmmm…" He sighed. "This is a long-shot, but we don't really have much to go off on."

"What are you talking about?" Simon inquired.

"A while back, we would go scavenging in nearby cities. We would communicate by radio when the group was separated. But here is the weird thing…" They all leaned their heads in, listening attentively. "We picked up weird signals sometimes, like white noise from other radio transmissions." Billy pulled a map from his pocket.

"Why do you have a map in your pocket?" asked his wife.

"I keep it in there out of habit. We go scavenging often." Billy unraveled the map and placed it at the foot of the bed. "We heard the white noise in these three cities. If I am inferring correctly, then their camp can't be too far from this general area. At least a radius of fifteen miles."

"Fifteen miles? That's a huge area to cover in just one night," Jonah explained.

"It's all we have. This may be as good as it gets." Simon then turned to Billy. "When do we head out?"

"Tonight… If I'm right, these cities aren't that far from here. It would be an hour commute at least. Can you stand?"

Simon pulled the blanket off of him and sat upright. "I'm ready."

* * *

There was a dark room, with nothing but a light in the center, shining down onto a chair. Bound to the chair was Marceline, who was soon awoken by a strange smell. The smell of blood. She had not yet tasted it yet, and never really wanted to, but she could recognized the smell anywhere. She awoke to find that it wasn't her blood she was smelling, but someone else's. The floor of the room had been covered in it. The thought of the potential uses for the room began to frighten her. Was it an interrogation room? Torture? Who knows. But one thing was for sure: Marceline had to escape. She struggled to free herself, but to no avail. She hands weren't bound to the chair, but bound together behind her. Her legs were also bound together as well. She soon fell off the chair and thudded on the floor, crying her heart out.

After closing her eyes for what seemed like forever, she opened them once she felt a warm presence in front of her. The pale white face, the red hair, blue eyed lay in front of her, resting its hand on Marceline's face, drying her tears. "Lilly?"

"Yes Marceline… It's me?"

"Am I dreaming?"

"No."

"What are you doing here?" asked Marceline, still crying a little bit.

"I'm here to help get you out, but you need to do this by yourself. I can only tell you the plan and if you follow my instructions exactly, you will live. Do you understand?" Marceline nodded in compliance. "Good… now in the next couple of seconds, someone is going to come in here. You need to get your hands in front of you."

Marceline nodded and slid her nimble legs up and threaded them through her arms. As she completed her task, the door flew open, revealing a dark figure. It wasn't the Lich, but one of his men. He circled the room, looking at Marceline rather suggestively. Marceline returned the stare in fear and Lilly whispered into her ear. "Seduce him."

Without a second thought, Marceline began talking suggestively. "Hey there, big man." He continued to circle her quietly. "I got a craving that only you can satisfy…" She got onto all fours and slowly inched towards him. "Please? Please give it to me?" The man couldn't take it anymore. He pulled Marceline up onto her feet and kissed her furiously. It made her sick, but it had to be done. She returned the kiss and began kissing down his body, slowly making her way to his crotch. She wrapped her tied hands around his bulge, making him moan in ecstasy. Marceline looked up, noticing that the man had his eyes closed, tilting his head in a euphoric manner, then she looked at Lilly, who was right next to her and couldn't be seen by others but Marceline.

"Kill him," Lilly commanded, pointed at the knife sheathed on the man's belt.

She seized the moment by grabbing the knife and ran it into his throat. His death was quick and silent. She pulled out the knife in horror. As blood gushed out of the man, Marceline fell down onto the floor, vomiting. "Oh god…"

She felt Lilly's warm hand pressed on her shoulder. "It's gonna be okay, Marcy. It had to be done." Marceline took a moment to catch her breath. "Marcy, you don't have much time. Use the knife and free yourself from the ropes."

She nodded without question and cut the ropes that bound her feet together, then cut through the restraints on her arms. "Okay, what next?" she asked.

"Get out of the room. It won't be long before they notice his body."

Marceline grabbed the doorknob reluctantly, fearing what was on the outside. She stared at Lilly. "So no one is going to be waiting to shoot me outside?"

"If you don't leave now, there will be. You have to trust me, Marceline."

She nodded and opened the door. Outside was a camp similar to Billy's but it seemed more run down. Rather than having bunkers upon bunkers stacked into a row, it seemed like everything was built from whatever sheets of metal they could find. It was a very makeshift camp and before Marceline had a chance to observe the rest of the scenery, Lilly interrupted her train of thought. "Over there! Quick!" She pointed to the boundary of the camp, which was also very makeshift. Without a second thought, Marceline sprinted towards the wall.

"What do I do now?"

"This area of the wall is poorly reinforced. You might be able to push through it." Lilly pointed to a piece of wood, which Marceline found to be fairly easy to move. As she was about to start pushing through, a light was flashed onto her.

"She's escaped! Sound the alarm!"

Marceline, with all her force, pushed through the boundary and into the forest. From the outside, she could hear the guards gossiping between one another. "Danny's dead. Fuckin' bitch stabbed him in his throat."

"What do we do?" asked the other guard.

"Find her! The boss wants her alive."

"Understood! Send men outside the camp to search."

Marceline suddenly felt a hand tug on her, breaking her out of her trance. "Let's go!" yelled Lilly. The gate to the enemy camp opened and vehicles began to rush out, along with men armed with assault rifles and flashlights. Marceline hid behind a tree, just barely avoiding the lights. Lilly, who was invisible to everyone else, was clearly visible to Marceline, as if she was lit by the sun.

Marceline peered back at the gates as a man stepped out, holding his silver revolver in one hand, and a cigar in the other. The familiar evil in the green tuxedo. He turned his head over towards the Marceline, and she quickly hid behind the tree again. "Fuck! Did he see me!?"

Lilly peered her head out to observe. "Doesn't look like it. We need to go! Follow me!" She began to float off westward through the woods, with Marceline quickly tailing her.

"Where are we going?" asked Marceline.

Lilly didn't answer. She just kept on floating and floating in the general direction. It was then that Marceline began to question her loyalties. Could Lilly be trusted? Or is she leading her into a trap? She doesn't know, but she had no choice in the matter. She can't go back, so she could only move forward.

Soon enough, Marceline found herself lost in the woods, alone in the darkness. She had lost sight of Lilly. Frightened, she began to pace nervously in random directions. "Lilly!" she silently called. She heard running footsteps behind her and was immediately seized upon turning around.

"Shhh…. I aint gonna hurt you," the man said grimly. Marceline struggled to free herself from his grasp. She kept trying to pull away harder and harder until she was finally able to pull the hand away from her mouth. She let out a shrill cry for help, which anyone nearby could have heard. Suddenly…

* * *

_Bang!_

* * *

The captor fell on the floor lifeless, still holding Marceline in his grasp. Marceline looked behind her to see the enemies quickly tailing her. "We got contact! In the trees!" A firefight broke out quickly between the enemies and the unknown saviors. She turned around to see who saved her. It was Simon, accompanied by Billy.

"Marceline! Stay down!" Simon screamed.

She crawled her way towards Simon, avoiding the incoming bullets. Simon peeked his head out, returning a few shots in an attempt to suppress the incoming fire. Once Marceline got about a foot away from Simon, she stood up, only to fall back into the dirt again, screaming in pain. She had been shot in the calf. It was then that Simon thought of his promise to Marcy. How he wished he had the crown on him, but despite the terrible circumstances, he intended to keep his promise. "Pick her up!" screamed Billy. "I'll cover you!"

Simon nodded and slowly walked into the open, trying his best to avoid fire. He knelt down beside Marceline and picked her up, carrying her in his arms while putting pressure on the wound. "I got her!"

"Good! Let's go!" Billy put a few more shots to suppress the enemy before they began to retreat.

* * *

A few minutes passed, and Simon and Billy had thought that they had lost the enemies whilst retreating. They began to walk to catch their breath. "The car should be less than a mile that way. We're almost there."

Simon took a moment to look down at Marceline. She was shivering cold, about the same temperature as his own skin. She had turn pale, even more so than she was. Simon knew they had to get her back to camp for medical attention. "Don't worry Marcy," he whispered. "You are going to be just fine."

As they began to walk, they heard a gunshot. A bullet came rushing out of the darkness of the trees and just nearly missed Simon's head. A gunshot sound that was all too familiar: the sound of a revolver. "Run!" Billy screamed.

The pounded their boots into the mud, desperately avoiding the surprisingly accurate shots. Each shot from the Lich just barely missed a vital area of the body. Billy returned fire as they ran for their van, which after what seemed like hours of running, was finally in sight. "Simon! There's the van! I'll hold him off!"

"What!?"

"Just go!"

Simon rushed to the van as Billy stayed behind, keeping the man in green in check. The Lich fired some more shots towards Simon as he slid open the side door to the van. He quickly got in, placing Marceline down carefully. "I'll be back," he whispered, kissing her on her forehead.

* * *

The Lich was slowly approaching the van, and as he passed a tree, Billy jumped out, dragging the Lich down into the dirt. He quickly recovered and mounted Billy, pummeling his face in. "You wanna play?" asked the Lich. From within his green blazer, he pulled out a curved blade that was drenched in a thick, glowing green liquid. "Let's play!" he laughed maniacally.

The Lich pressed the blade down into Billy as he tried to resist. Billy had both his hands pushing all of the Lich's weight, but it wasn't enough. He gave in and the blade caved into his right shoulder. Billy felt a burning sensation coursing through his body as he let out a cry in pain. The Lich twisted the blade embedded inside of Billy, savoring the sounds of his scream. Then, unexpectedly…

* * *

_Bam! Bam! Bam!_

* * *

The Lich flew off of Billy as Simon appeared to pull him up. "I thought I told you to leave me!?" he groaned.

"No one gets left behind!" Simon replied as he carried Billy around his shoulder.

They approached the car, but quickly found themselves pursued once again by the Lich. He shot at them some more but was quickly caught in a trap, laid down by Simon in secret. An explosive soon jumped from the ground and the Lich caught a glimpse of it the instant before it exploded in his face. This gave Simon and Billy enough time for them to enter the car and escape just barely with their lives.

* * *

They sped down the road, and when Billy felt it was safe, he began to talk. "Are you guys alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm okay. I think Marcy is t-…" Simon laid his hand on Marceline's forehead, checking to see if she had a fever. There was no fever, but in its place, a bloody gaping hole. "Oh shit…" Simon whispered.

"What is it?" asked Billy.

"No…. no no no Marceline!" Simon held her close, crying, fearing the worst until…

* * *

_Thud-ump, thud-ump, thud-ump…_

* * *

**__****Dont forget to leave a review! ask questions and leave comments too! I will try to have the other one posted either this week or next week.**


	10. Dazed and Confused

**Not really much questions to answer. I was really excited and inspired, so here is the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Have fun!**

* * *

"Simon! Simon! Talk to me!"

Simon snapped out of his sudden trance, his hand pressed against Marceline's neck. He could feel her pulse.

* * *

_Thud-ump... thud-ump… thud-ump…._

* * *

His eyes went wide. _She's alive!_ He thought.

"Is she okay?" Billy asked.

"Not for long…"

"What the fuck is going on?"

"The fucker shot her in the head!" Simon replied.

"How is she still alive then?"

"I don't fucking know." Simon was contemplating what they should do. The situation was impossible. "How far away is our camp?" he asked.

"I don't know… I guess about an hour away. She'll never make it."

Simon kept thinking and thinking for a solution. There was absolutely no way that he would allow Marceline to die on him. Not after everything they have been through, not on his watch. He would have done anything in her power to keep her alive, even break the promises that he made to her long ago.

Simon's thoughts ventured him to a time when it was just the two of them. They had somehow gotten into a conversation about their parents. He didn't remember how, but that wasn't important. What was important, however, was the information that she had disclosed to Simon: how to see her father. Of course, Hunson Abadeer had never really been there for her, so naturally, she didn't want any part of him in her life. After all, if he was never there for her, why would she want to see him? She made Simon swear that no matter what the circumstances, they would never make an attempt to see her father, ever.

Simon knew exactly what he had to do, despite his promise. "Pull over, Billy…"

"What!?" Billy responded.

"Pull over…"

"You do know they're tailing us right?"

"I said fucking pull over!" Simon commanded. Billy gave a loud groan as he drove the van to the side of the road. Simon opened the side door, exiting the vehicle.

"Where are you going?"

"I won't be gone long… Just keep her alive while I'm gone."

"Wha… Simon!" Billy was interrupted when Simon shut the door in his face. "Goddammit. You better hurry."

Meanwhile, in the rain, Simon walked onto the road and knelt down, pulling out a knife and a flask of bug juice. There was no concentrated bug milk at the time, so what Simon did was ground up a bunch of bugs, which should have small bits of milk inside their guts, secretly away from Marceline of course. He poured it into a flask and took it everywhere he went just in case the situation where they would need her father, would arise. Using his knife, he carved a smiley face into the road and doused it with bug milk. _"Malloso Vobiscum Et Cum Spiritum!" _The portal opened up underneath Simon. He heard stories from Marceline about how fearsome her father supposedly was, being the ruler of the Nightosphere and all. He swallowed all his fears and jumped inside the portal.

* * *

The first thing Simon noticed about the Nightosphere upon arrival was its scorching heat. Simon kept a strong, calm composure, but inside, the heat was killing him. It made him weak, for he was used to the cold, especially the cold blood coursing through his veins, thanks to the effects of the crown. He appeared before a giant metal gate attached to a wall that encompassed the area. In front of the gate was a guard roughly three times the height of Simon. Simon slowly walked up to him. "H-Hello…?" he stuttered.

"STATE YOUR PURPOSE FOR BEING HERE, HUMAN!" The sudden loudness startled Simon.

"I-… I-I am here to speak with Hunson Abadeer!"

"NO ONE SPEAKS TO HUNSON ABADEER!"

"I come as a messenger. To speak on behalf of Marceline Abadeer." Simon stood firm.

"YOU AND THE OTHER PEOPLE! WHAT MAKES ME THINK THAT I SHOULD LET YOU IN TO SEE HIM?"

"Because I am a human. I wouldn't come here for any other purpose."

"That's true…" the guard lowered his volume. "YOU MAY PASS… BUT KNOW THIS. IF ABADEER KNOWS YOU ARE LYING, YOU SHALL PAY THE DEAREST PRICE." The guard stepped out of the way as the gates behind him slowly opened. Behind the gates were chained demons, doing hard labor. Behind the demons must have been there masters, for they had whips ready if something 'undesirable' happens. Simon walked through, maintaining his composure, resisting the effects of the heat and the smell which he could only assume was sulfur. He finally reached the palace entrance and opened the door. Inside, at the end of a long, elegant hallway, sat Hunson Abadeer on his majestic throne.

"Who goes there?" asks Hunson. Simon knew just from seconds of meeting him for the first time, that he was not going to like him one bit.

"My name is Simon Petrikov."

"What's a human doing in the Nightosphere? You know once you come in, you can never leave, right?" Hunson gave a hearty laugh. "I've been hungering for a soul to munch on…"

"I come to speak on behalf of Marceline… your daughter, I presume?"

Hunson's laugh stopped suddenly. "Don't you lie to me, Simon. Marceline is my child. There is absolutely no way she would need help. She's an Abadeer…"

"How would you know? You were never once there for her! Never… How about a 'Thank you Simon! Thank you for taking care of my daughter for me while I was off jerking it in the Nightosphere?'"

Hunson slowly began to transform, ready to attack Simon in sheer anger. "Why you little… I should suck out your puny soul right now…"

"You have never once been there for her!" Simon yelled until he was darker blue in the face. "You broke her heart. She hates you, you know that?"

Hunson calmed down. "She… She hates me?"

"Fuck yeah… look at you. You are the ruler of the Nightosphere, the king of this realm, yet you don't have enough time for your daughter, even when she is about to die. Even when the difference between life or death is you, you still aren't there for her."

"What are you talking about?" asked Hunson.

"Marceline is going to die. There is nothing I can do about it, but I'm sure there is something you can do. There is no other reason for me to be here." Simon slowly up the stairs that lead to Hunson's throne. "So for once, be a father… save her."

Hunson thought about it for a moment, secretly making Simon cross. "Alright… I'll do it… where is she?"

* * *

Back on Earth, Billy stood in the van watching over Marceline, checking her pulse, making sure she was still alive and breathing. He looked up outside the window, where there stood a tall dark figure. He jumped away, screaming as the side door flung open. "Billy relax! I got help!"

"Simon? Who the fuck is that?"

"Help…" Simon turned his attention towards Hunson, who was right beside him. "Okay Hunson, she doesn't have long left. Do your thing."

Hunson parted his daughter's hair, revealing her face to the light. He let out a few tears from his eyes as he looked at his broken daughter. "I'm sorry, princess. I should have been a better father to you… but Simon is a better father than I could ever be. You are in safer hands with him than with me." He looked towards Simon and Billy. "You guys might want to look away. This is gonna be pretty disturbing."

Simon and Billy turned away, obeying Marceline's father in fear. All they heard was the sound of a high pitched, demonic screech; the most disturbing sound they had ever heard in their entire lives. The sound was followed by an intense stabbing sound, the sound of Hunson's vampire teeth puncturing her daughter's skin. Around the bitten area, the veins turned a bright green and slowly, the green began to encircle her entire body. "Is she gonna be okay?" Simon asked.

"Yes…" Hunson replied. "She should be better and healed in the morning." He looked back at Simon. " Remember, she is now a vampire. She will be weak against wood and needs to stay out of the sunlight. She can only eat shades of red, but she will sometimes need blood, for quick rejuvenation." Simon nodded and afterwards, Hunson stuck his hand out. "You're a good man, Simon. You take good care of her now."

"Thank you Hunson. I will." Simon grasped his hand, returning his handshake.

Out of nowhere, they hear vehicles behind them. "Fuck… We have to go now!" Billy screamed.

"Go!" Hunson commanded. "I'll deal with them!"

"Are you sure?" asked Simon.

"I can handle it. I am the king of the Nightosphere after all." Hunson's face began to contort devilishly.

"C'mon Simon!"

Simon quickly climbed into the car, beside Marceline, who was already rapidly healing and showing fangs. Her gunshot wound in the head was now nearly closed. As they drove away, Simon looked back, watching Marceline's father tear the enemies limb from limb as the victims screamed. It nearly made him vomit, but he appreciated saving them, especially for coming through as a father and saving Marceline.

* * *

An hour passed and it was dawn. Marceline was completely healed and just sleeping the night off. Simon stood awake, paying attention to anything that may happen. They had finally arrived at the camp. Simon carried Marceline in his arms outside the car and headed to the infirmary. Billy remained in the car, clutching his shoulder. From their quarters, Jonah came rushing out, opening the car door for her husband. Billy took a few steps out before collapsing on the floor convulsing, continuing to clutch his shoulder tightly.

"Billy! Honey! What's wrong? Billy!" Jonah removed his hand when he fell unconscious and stepped away immediately. "What the fuck? Oh god…" Underneath his hand was the stab wound inflicted by the Lich himself. Rather than bleeding red blood, it was oozing a bright green liquid, similar to the ooze from the toxic. He began to convulse on the gravel beneath them. "What happened to you Billy?"

* * *

**Sorry it was so short. Hope you enjoyed it. dont forget to leave a review and compliments/questions. Ill try to have the next one up soon.**


	11. Stairway to Heaven

**Use A Kat: Thanks for the compliments and grammar corrections! The questions about Lilly and Marceline, their connection, will be answered. As for Marceline's quick and FORCED recovery, the world that they live in doesnt have time to wait. Either they move along with it or they die. The Nightosphere IMO should have been different then. Procedures do change over time. I hope that answers your questions, and i may have left a few out. Your reviews are very long, but also helpful! dont stop!**

**Vicchavez007: Your review initially made me realize how much was going on. even writers dont even catch that about their own story sometimes lol.**

**VodnikGAZ: Billy will be explained soon as well.**

**Jjay554: I would have, but i kinda didnt want to use time describing a character that many already knew enough about. I mean he wears a suit, tough exterior, chaotic but has the capacity to love. Very simple description but i wanted to show it through action and dialogue. Ill keep it in mind for next time though. Thanks**

**Solar-Sickness: I wasnt expecting to either. nowadays, my updates are kinda sporadic because my life at work and at home are a lot tougher, despite being the summer.**

**Thanks for the reviews guys! I really appreciate it. The best community ever!**

**Disclaimer: Sorry for the short chapter.**

* * *

Inside a dark room, where the only source of light came from a candle, sat the green suited terror, the Lich. He sat in front of a mirror, his left hand covering half of his face. He winced in pain and pleasure as he recalled the explosive that jumped from the ground and exploded in his face. He began to slowly remove his hand, revealing not flesh, but bone. The blast removed the lower right portion of his face as well as his lips. It was a much more terrifying sight than what he used to look like, for he seemed even more dark and unnatural than before. As he looked in the mirror, grinning in delight at his own personal suffering, he imagined the pain and suffering of the ones who did this to him; suffering that he himself was intent on inflicting. The man in blue skin. "You are going to pay for this."

* * *

Inside the infirmary, Simon sat down next to Marceline, who was still sleeping from that night. It had been no more than a day since then, and as Simon thought about everything they had been through and the promises that he made. He knew he had to change. He can no longer keep his promises because those promises were one of the things putting them in danger. If Simon had worn his crown, maybe Marceline would never have gotten kidnapped and even if she was kidnapped, the powers of the crown could have stopped her from getting shot in the head.

Simon knew Marceline didn't want a lot of things that happened to her. She wanted her mother to be alive, she wanted her dad to be there for her, and she most definitely did not want to be anything more than human. These roles were thrust upon her and she had no say in the matter. Although Simon had no control over her mother and father, it was his decision and his alone for Marceline to become a vampire. What was going to happen when she wakes up? Will the memories of that night plague her? These questions riddled Simon's mind and now, Simon could not get a specific thought out of his head: what did they do to her? It drove him mad.

Worst of all, the chanting from his crown was getting stronger in his mind. Standing beside him was the ghostly white figure, looking ominously down at Marceline. Simon tried the best to put it in the farthest region of his mind, but no matter what he did, he would always be there, staring at the thing he cared for most. Simon knew that one day, he would lose his mind to the crown. He didn't want Marceline to go through losing the only person she cared the most for as well as the only other person who cared for her. It was inevitable for Simon to lose his sanity as well as Marceline to lose her only true father. Simon figured that the best way for Marceline to let go of him was if he just left without a word, never to be seen again. Every thought in his head was driving him insane. He had to take his mind off of it. He just had to.

After asking the doctor to keep an eye on Marceline for him, he ran into his quarters and rummaged through his journals. He eventually came across a picture that he took of Marceline over 13 years ago. He cried as he hugged the picture close to his chest. "I'm so sorry Marcy. I hope that one day you may find the will to forgive what I have to do." He turned the picture around and began to scribble with a pen on its backside.

* * *

_ Marceline, is it just you and me in the wreckage of the world?_

_ That must be so confusing for a little girl._

_ And I know you're going to need me here with you._

_ But I'm losing myself, and I'm afraid you're gonna lose me too._

* * *

_ This magic keeps me alive, but it's making me crazy,_

_ And I need to save you, but who's going to save me?_

_ Please forgive me for whatever I do,_

_ When I don't remember you._

* * *

Simon continued to sob as he ran out of space to write. He took out another piece of paper and scribbled on the new page.

* * *

_Marceline, I can feel myself slipping away._

_ I can't remember what it made me say._

_ But I remember that I saw you frown._

_ I swear it wasn't me, it was the crown._

* * *

_This magic keeps me alive, but it's making me crazy,_

_ And I need to save you, but who's going to save me?_

_ Please forgive me for whatever I do,_

_ When I don't remember you._

* * *

Simon kissed the note and the picture and placed it in his journal. He left the journal on his desk in hopes that Marceline would find it when he left the next day. He packed his bags with his stuff, tied the crown onto his belt, and left back to the infirmary to say goodbye to Marceline.

* * *

Back at the infirmary, right beside Marceline, was Jonah sitting next to her unconscious husband, Billy. She thought about what the doctor had told her; about Billy's stab wound. That green slime oozing from the puncture was from the living toxic. She contemplated what they should do. Billy, without a doubt, was now contaminated and would soon turn. But she kept hope. It had been a day since then and usually people turn within a couple of hours.

There were a few changes to Billy ever since contamination. His vibrant skin was now a dark ashy gray. Lumps were beginning to form on his body, especially right next to his pinky fingers. However, the most noticeable, and disturbing transformation, was the sharp extrusion on his right wrist. It almost looked like the bone was broken and nearly about to come out of his skin. Even though Jonah still had hope for Billy, she wasn't any less frightened.

Simon soon walked into the room and sat down back next to Marceline. There was a long silence between the two of them before Jonah finally decided to speak. "What happened to Billy?"

Simon sighed, hoping he didn't have to answer this question. "I was too late to help him."

Jonah wiped the trail of tears from her drenched face. "What am I going to do?"

"Jonah…"

She gave a chuckle as she reminisced on the good times. "You know… before the whole world went to shit… we were actually pretty happy. Billy, Lilly and I…" She wiped a tear as Simon listened attentively to their story. "We married shortly after he returned from the military. Not a year later, we had Lilly." Simon handed her a handkerchief to dry her eyes, but instead of drying her eyes, Jonah used it to blow her nose and fumbled around with it afterwards. "My job as a nurse didn't give me enough time to take care of Lilly, so Billy was a stay-at-home dad most of the time. They were so happy together, inseparable really. There wasn't a time when they weren't together, and now that I think about it, it should have been me who should have saved Lilly. I should have been the one to die that day…"

"Jonah you can't blame yourself for what happened. You didn't know. You did what you could…" Simon placed his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to console her.

"What I did wasn't enough…" she shook him off her shoulder. "All this time I blamed Billy… because I was too afraid to blame myself. I tried to justify my blame, but… deep down, it could never be justified. I just didn't want to be at fault and for the longest time, I couldn't forgive myself. I shouldn't have left her. Maybe if I would have stayed by her, things would have been different. Maybe…"

Simon suddenly had a revelation. It was then that he knew, with all his heart, soul, and whatever was left of his mind, that he could not leave Marceline. Not now. Not ever. It was then that he knew that by leaving, it would only be doing them both harm. Although Simon swore to protect her and keep her alive by any means possible, he vowed never to leave her side. He stood up vigorously, knocking the chair behind him down. He quickly rushed out of the room and ran back to his quarters. He looked around madly until he found Marceline's picture, which he scribbled on the back of, and threw it in his journal, never to be seen again. He threw it in his bag and left back to the infirmary, but not before he had a chance to grab Hambo. He looked down at the plush toy and thought of his promise, a promise that he kept for over thirteen years, and a promise that he intended to keep until it needed to be broken.

* * *

** Sorry for the short chapter. I will try to have more up soon. Dont forget to review and compliment and ask questions! see ya soon!**


	12. How Many More Times

**Nothing really to answer. Not that much reviews to the last chapter :(**

**Disclaimer: I hope you like this chapter.**

* * *

_Even within Billy's unconscious mind, he could feel himself beginning to turn. He dreamt of himself, as a damaged human being. His guts churned as he remembered his surroundings. It was the house of their happy family, before the events of the Mushroom War. He began in his room, observing the pictures on the wall; pictures of his friends and family. His eyes followed the walls of his bedroom until it looped behind him, where the door to the bedroom stood. Underneath the door was a trail of blood, leading to the outside. He gasped as he held his shoulder, clutching it intensely. The blood on the floor was still wet and warm. Whoever was killed here was killed recently, just seconds before. With nowhere else to go, Billy took a deep breath and opened the door._

_ The door lead into their living room. The entire room was destroyed, like a tornado ran rampant through it. Pictures and paper littered the floor and the television set had fallen over. The coffee table in the center of the room was no longer there, but in its place a massive wooden crucifix planted on the ground. Crucified on the cross, to Billy's horror, was none other than his daughter, Lilly. He approached the cross, slow and weak as tears rushed down his face. He remembered his failure as a father, for all fathers took an oath when their child is born: to swear to protect them at all costs._

_ When he finally was inches away, he reached upward to touch her face. Suddenly, Lilly's eyes opened to reveal not her usual beautiful blue eyes, but rather demonic black eyes. "Hello Billy…" The voice was a deep, dark and terrible._

_ Billy nearly fell backward. "You… you aren't Lilly. Who are you?"_

_ "My name is Nothung." It replied. "I am a part of you. I am everything you hate and everything you fear. I am the manifestations of your deepest regrets and sorrows. I am what ails your subconscious. But I am also your greatest power…"_

_ "What do you mean?"_

_ "Do you think that you would have ever made it this far if it weren't for your deepest regrets?" Billy stood there silent, pretending to be completely ignorant of Nothung's inference. "Let's start with your driving force: your greatest failure. I know you wouldn't have even raised a finger to save that girl if it weren't for the death of your daughter."_

_ Billy knew he was right. It wasn't out of the kindness of his heart that he saved Marceline, but because she reminded him so much of Lilly. He initially performed some mental gymnastics to make himself think that he was doing it for Simon, but deep down in his heart, he knew the simple reason why he really wanted to rescue Marceline._

_ "The thought that you were atoning for your sins is what drove you to who you are today. It forced you to build this camp; save all these lives." Billy pointed his face down in shame as the demonic voice continued. "I am your inner selfishness, your inner demon, your inner you. And now, I am finally free."_

_ "No! I won't allow it…" Billy screamed as he covered his ears in an attempt to block everything out._

_ "It doesn't matter. I am a part of you. You will awaken soon enough, but when you do, I will be there with you, no matter how you try to hide it. I will even be visible on your skin. It's what we both want."_

_ "No!"_

* * *

_ Marceline sat down in a field full of dandelions, surrounded by trees. The leaves began to turn yellow, and the breeze began to turn cold. She felt her ghostly friend step up to her from behind. "Marceline…"_

_ Marceline didn't answer her friends call. She was still quite angry from before; how she left her alone in the woods with no direction on where to go. She abandoned her at the worst moment. "Marceline please…"_

_ "What do you want?" asked Marceline._

_ "I want you to understand why I left you like that." Marceline forcefully uprooted a dandelion as Lilly spoke, crumbling it in her pale gray hands. "I can only appear when I am needed. When I am necessary. It's a part of my test…"_

_ Marceline stood up in a fury and turned to Lilly. "Test? You mean the tests to get to the 50th dead world? Is that what I am to you? Just a task that you can complete and just disappear?"_

_ "Marceline…"_

_ "… I thought I could trust you Lilly? Out of everyone that I have known, I thought you would be the one who wouldn't let me down." Lilly could do nothing more than stand there in utter silence. "And for the record, if you only appear when you need to then why are you here?"_

_ "Because I needed to tell you why…" Lilly replied._

_ Tears slowly welled up underneath Marceline's eyelids. "Just go away Lilly…" She spoke softly as she turned around. After a few seconds, she looked back to find that her ghostly friend had vanished._

* * *

Marceline awoke in the infirmary to a loud ringing sound. Everything seemed brighter to her and staring into the sunlight was now unbearable. She couldn't understand why. Beside her was Hambo, her plush toy, and on the opposite side, sat Simon who was currently asleep. Without hesitation, all of the memories from that fateful night began to rush back into her head. The murders, the firefight, the evil green demon, and the intense pain that should have ended her life. She quickly began to sob as she held her Hambo close, waking Simon up. "Marceline? What's wrong sweetheart?" He rushed to her side, gently caressing her hand and wiping her tears.

"Wh-w…." she was sobbing so incredibly hard that she couldn't speak properly.

"Speak slowly honey…"

"Wh-What happened? I was supposed to die…" She finally calmed down.

Simon paused, not wanting to tell Marceline the truth. "You were shot… Marceline… I didn't know what else to do…"

Marceline suddenly stopped crying and abruptly turned to Simon. "What did you do, Simon?"

Simon didn't want to answer that question, for he feared the consequence. But he didn't want to lie to her. "I… I got your dad… to save your life…" Marceline quickly flung Simon's hand away from hers in anger and disappointment. "I couldn't let you die, Marcy."

"Well you should have!" she retorted. "Simon, I thought that I could trust you? I could understand the promises with the crown, but this was too far. You promised that you would never get in contact with my dad under _any_ circumstances." Simon stood there in complete shock as he observed a face that Marceline never showed before. "You knew I would rather die than see that jerk again. Why didn't you respect that?"

"Because I couldn't let you die!" shouted Simon.

Marceline returned Simon's gaze. This was the first time that they were actually arguing intensely. They never once shouted at each other. Moments passed before Marceline decided to speak again. "What did he do to me?"

"He turned you into a vampire…"

She began to cry again. "I would at least thought that you would let me keep my mortality…" she whispered.

"Marcy…"

"Don't Marcy me, Simon. Just go… leave me alone." Simon respected her decision to despise him. Even Simon despised himself for breaking his promise, but he had to do it. But as Simon walked out the door, there was a huge explosion outside, startling everyone. The outer perimeter of the camp had fallen. The war between good and evil has begun.

* * *

**I will now be posting every week. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. The next chapter will be exciting. **


	13. Babe Im Gonna Leave You

**Disclaimer: Not much reviews to answer. So here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

"What's happening?" Marceline asked as the floor beneath her bed shook. Simon peaked out through the curtains and noticed that the camp was being raided. Whatever forces Billy had stationed were doing their best to keep the enemies at bay while the others were trying to get the women and children to safety. Bullets flew around and many were caught and killed in the crossfire. Simon observed in absolute horror as shrapnel and bullets tore people limb to limb. Blood was spilt everywhere and the whole camp was becoming painted in a dark red. Simon looked at Billy, who was still unconscious, praying that he would wake up soon.

Simon then turned his gaze to Marceline and grabbed her hand. "We are getting you somewhere safe. Come on!" He wrapped his arms around her legs and carried her bridal style as she clutched her Hambo tightly. Suddenly, Jonah came breaking through the door, armed and ready.

"We are being attacked!" she screamed.

"I know… I need to get Marceline somewhere safe!"

"But I can fight!" Marceline interjected.

"You can't even go out into the sun!" Marceline's face grew angry at Simon's remark. It frightened Simon because Marceline never once looked at him like she truly despised him. He just wanted Marceline to be safe, but for her, it seemed like he was doubting her abilities. "Look…"

"Fine… I get it…" Marceline jumped out of Simon's arms and landed feet first on the floor. She fell down rather slowly, almost as if she floated down. She then proceeded to wrap herself with the blanket from her bed and walked to Jonah's side.

"There is a bunker just south of here that has an underground vault. Bunker #27. This used to be a military base before the fucking war. W-" A bullet came flying through the window, almost hitting Jonah in the face. "Shit!… We'll be there!"

"Okay... What about Billy!?"

She took a moment to gaze at her husband and realized the inevitable. "There's nothing we can do for him…"

"So what? We're just gonna leave him?"

"What? Do you think we can carry him down the vault?" Jonah retorted. "It would be too risky. And he might turn soon. He hasn't yet, but he might, and I can't risk that. You can't either…" Simon stood there in silence. She was right. Billy was great and even though he went out of his way to save both Simon and Marceline, he couldn't put Marceline at risk just for Billy. "So I am gonna make a run for Bunker #27." Jonah then took the rifle off of her shoulder and handed it over to Simon. "I want you to take my rifle and cover me. Got it?" Simon then reached his hand out and grabbed the rifle. "Good… Follow me."

* * *

Outside, bullets were flying everywhere as people were becoming dismembered by the larger caliber rounds. Simon, as he was exiting the back of the infirmary, caught a glimpse of a man running through the open, trying to get his family to safety. They were headed towards the bunker. They were almost there but hell rained from the sky not in the form of fire, but in the form of a large mortar round. All it took was one second and an explosion to completely eviscerate the family. The only thing left in their place was a crater, filled with blood and gore. At that exact moment, Marceline had to shield her eyes.

Simon was lost in a daze as the men of the camp were being slaughtered by the invaders. He was frightened to hell. This wasn't a gunfight… it was a warzone. "Simon!" Simon snapped out of his trance and turned his attention towards Jonah. "I need you to cover us!" A few more bullets zipped by as Simon nodded in agreement. "On three, ready? One… two… three!"

Jonah and Marceline darted across the open concrete terrain as Simon quickly followed them, laying down suppression fire in the general direction of the enemy. Every moment, they prayed that a mortar wouldn't hit them by surprise. There were plenty of close calls as the bullets flew by. The closest of all bullets punched a hole through Marceline's blanket, the one she used to cover her face. Luckily, she wasn't hit. They finally reached the Bunker and forcefully opened the door. Inside the bunker were a few weapons and ammo, but most importantly, sitting dead center in the room, was a bright red carpet. "There it is!" Jonah screamed. "Underneath should be the vault." Simon rushed into the room and forcefully pulled the red carpet away, revealing the latch to the vault.

It took all of Simon's strength to lift the vault open, for the door seemed to weigh a ton. Underneath the door was an abyss, where the only way in and out was a ladder. Marceline went down first, followed by Jonah. She glanced back up at Simon, who wore a grim look, as if he was sorry about something. "Come on, Simon!"

Simon shook his head. He personally felt like he had wronged Marceline and his fiancée, Betty. The only two people he truly cared about in his whole entire life. He wanted to make amends for his actions: For introducing himself to the terrible crown. And this was the way to do it. He looked right back at Jonah with eyes of regret and sorrow. "No… Simon, don't." He shook his head once more and shut the heavy door in front of her. "Simon! Simon don't do this!" Jonah continued to pound on the door as Simon grabbed whatever ammo he could find in the bunker. As he walked outside into the warzone, he took one last look at the vault before shutting the bunker door.

* * *

Outside, the war continued and the residents of Billy's camp were getting ripped apart. With whatever ammo he had, Simon rushed into the firefight, alongside the other residents who were fighting back. The front of the wall had been torn down by explosives, allowing an overflow of bandits inside. Simon was able to pick off a few stragglers with his rifle, but him and the rest of the men in the camp wasn't enough. Bandits had armored vehicles rolling inside the opening with mounted machine guns. The machine guns opened fired, ripping apart anything they came in contact with. Simon watched as his comrades were torn to shreds by .50 cal rounds, powerless to do anything about it. The machine guns had stopped, giving Simon the perfect opportunity to return fire.

That was when he caught a glimpse of a familiar person; a person who should have been dead. The green demon walked into the camp, passing by the clouds of smoke that was the result of burning gunpowder. He wore the same green tuxedo and wielded the same revolver that Simon last saw him in. The only thing that was different about his appearance was his mouth. It had been ripped apart, revealing his broken teeth and jawbone. But wait… Simon noticed something off about the Lich's appearance. His eyes were glowing bright green. The Lich then proceeded to lift his hands and without warning, his dead comrades came back to life. The mortal wounds did not have any effect on them at all. "What the fuck is happening?" asked Simon.

The dead men continued to fight, shooting their rifles and tearing up the camp residents. At that exact moment, another explosion occurred. This time, the wall on the rear of the camp had been destroyed and instead of more men flooding the area, it was a pool of the walking toxic. Within just a few short seconds, the camp residents found themselves easily outnumbered, with the Lich's army, both dead and undead, attacking from the front and the walking toxic attacking from the back. Simon shut his eyes in despair and thought about the two people he cared for most in the world. "Betty… Marceline… My princesses… Please forgive me…" To everyone, all seemed lost until…

* * *

_Slash!_

* * *

Simon opened his eyes to find that the first row of twenty men, both alive and dead, had been dismembered limb to limb cleanly, as if with the edge of a blade. Standing right beside Simon was Billy, who now had pale grey skin, red hair, and six fingers. His right forearm appeared to be sliced open and bleeding heavily. Inside his right forearm, where there was once two bones holding it together, there was now only a single bone. Simon gagged at the sight as Billy instructed his men. "Take care of the toxic. I'll handle these guys." He raised his blade with his bleeding arm and went on a slashing spree, killing every single bandit he could see, whether they were dead or alive.

Simon and the rest of the men in the camp who was alive, turned their attention to the walking toxic. They all opened fired, mowing down rows upon rows. They continued this method and within the span of a few minutes, the battle had come to an end.

* * *

Among the sea of the dead, Simon and Billy scoured the bodies to look for positive identification on whether they killed the Lich or not. They must have searched the bodies more than a dozen times. "Any luck?" asked Simon.

"None. He must have run off." Billy then planted his sword into the concrete. Simon was astounded by Billy's newfound strength. He wondered what happened back at the enemy camp, but his thoughts were interrupted when one of the men walked out of Bunker #27 with all the women and children of the camp. Simon looked through the crowd but soon became worried when he didn't see Marceline.

"Where is she?" Simon asked Jonah frantically.

"She was right here a second ago…"

Simon looked around in a hysterical fashion, hoping that Marceline was still around. He soon found a girl covered in a blanket walking towards the back of the camp where the wall had been blown down. "Marceline!" he called as he ran towards her.

She looked back at him and with the look she was wearing, he could tell what she was thinking. She had the look that was a combination of pure hatred and sadness, of being betrayed and closing herself shut to everyone. She didn't want to be around anyone anymore. Simon figured it all out and it didn't take him long. He sprinted towards her as fast as he can but he was too slow. Marceline had already begun levitating away from him at a high speed.

And for the next thousand years, she would regret her action of this day, for it would be the last time she would ever see Simon in his normal state.

* * *

**Hop you guys enjoyed this chapter and dont forget to review and ask questions and comment! also, follow me and favorite this story if you havent already. See you guys in a while! :) **

**EDIT: This is not the end of the story. Just thought I would clarify. **


	14. Over the Hills and Far Away

**ATV145: Welcome back! Thanks for the input!**

**vicchavez007: You have to understand that Marceline just went through a whole lot. She had been kidnapped, had to seduce someone then kill him, had to escape the camp all while being chased by the Lich and his men, Lilly leaves her, and then Marcy shot in the leg, shot in the head and nearly dying, and then having her father rescue her was the icing on the cake. That last part completely shattered her trust after a night that would have broken any human being.**

**Jjay554: Unfortunately, I honestly dont think that there isnt much to touch on in regards to Simon and Betty. All that was necessary from their story was that they loved each other. And dont trip on the vacation stuff. As long as you enjoy reading my fics, then i am more than happy.**

**VodnikGAZ: Actually, if you havent noticed already, this story goes into parts that even Marceline wasnt a part of, despite Marceline being the one to tell the story. That is why i had it stay in third person POV rather than First Person (Marceline's POV)**

**The Madman001: I always thought that it was never clarified. Could you point me to the episode?**

**Disclaimer: Not only did this surpass the reviews for After Dark, but it also is the longest story of mine in terms of words. The story is now nearly about to breach 30,000 words. Whoot time for some celebration!**

* * *

Simon awoke in his quarters later at night. His sleeping space on the ground was a mess. "Oh thank god it was all a dream…" The previous night was all a blur to him. "What happened?" he asked himself. He stood up, calling for Marceline. No answer. He tried again. "Marceline? Are you there?" He turned the light on to find that Marceline's bed had been made and cleaned. Simon's harsh reality sunk in as he began to remember. It wasn't a dream. Marceline really did leave. She had been gone for a week and a half now. He traced his eyes across his room, from Marceline's bed to the ground he slept on, passed the bottles of whiskey he had drank the night before, and finally, to the shelf, where the crown sat patiently. It called his name.

* * *

_I can help you_…

* * *

"No…" he replied. He continued to survey the room until he came across his rifle, the AR-15 that sat in the corner of the room. He quickly packed all of his ammo and magazines into his vest, which he stole from Bunker #27, and packed food into his backpack, that was also stolen from the camp.

Simon didn't care too much for the camp anymore. After the first attack on the camp, Billy began to buckle down. He began to control anything thing that enters and leaves the camp. Anyone who resided within the camp can no longer leave if they wished, and he wouldn't let anyone else inside. A complete reversal of what he used to be. Simon knew that Billy had been planning a counter attack on the Lich, but it was more like a preemptive strike, or an ambush. But to Simon, it didn't matter. All that mattered to him now was finding Marceline. He personally found it disgusting. A war between two camps, and both Simon and Marceline were caught in the middle.

For the past couple of nights, Simon had been sneaking out, against Billy's orders, an act punishable for treason, by death. Whenever he would be unsuccessful at locating Marceline, he would return and sleep in his bunker after taking a few shots of whiskey. No one would ever notice that he escaped. Sure there were guards around, but they never noticed. Simon knew the camp like the back of his hand. He knew of a safe place to sneak out and to re-enter. After every night, he would mark his map on the places in which he searched. He was hoping Marceline wouldn't have gone far, but after nights and nights of searching, he began to lose faith. The areas the he hadn't searched yet were getting smaller and smaller by the night.

For miles he searched for her. For days he searched but to no avail. He tried his best to keep whatever hope that he had left, but what other choice did he have. It was either keep hope or lose it to the crown. He knew he didn't have much time left, so he had to find Marceline quickly and tell him that he is sorry before it's too late.

After finally packing his things and tying the crown to his belt, he sets out into the moonlight, avoiding the guards' line of sight and quietly makes his way towards the back of the camp.

* * *

On the far side of a mountain wall, underneath a destroyed bridge, sat an enormous cave. The inside of the cave was massive, big enough to set a house inside of it. It was calm and beautiful, the perfect place for Marceline to use for shelter. She had gathered a bunch of sticks and dead leaves together and lit a campfire with the snap of her fingers. She thought about Simon at this time. She didn't hate the man. She in fact had a deep love for him, the same love that a daughter would love a caring father. But she didn't feel bad for leaving. She didn't feel anything at all. She was completely numb.

Who could blame her? Everything that happened that week would have made anyone snap. Marceline just had her trust broken by the people she loved. She found it hard to trust anybody and for the moment she never would… at least for a while.

Out from her sack, she pulled out a set of large red apples and sucked the red from them. She never wanted to be a vampire because of the immortality that comes with it, but she tried to look at the bright side. At least apples and red colors are much more abundant than meat. She stared into the fire for a moment, too tired from the lack of feeling. She didn't think of anything, making every single decision based on instinct, like a zombie or one of those walking toxics. But she knew one thing for sure. She just wanted to shut the whole world out. It wasn't the kind of place for her. There was nothing here for her that wouldn't break her trust or her heart. There was nothing in this world for her but pain.

And so, she decided to live alone for the rest of her undead life but this was very soon interrupted. From outside her cave stepped out a brightly lit figure, the girl in the beautiful red hair and blue eyes. "Marceline…" said Lilly.

"Oh god… could you people just leave me alone!?" Marceline had enough. "What do you want from me?"

"I know it's going to be hard to trust me…"

"Your damn straight! After all, I was nothing more than a trial to you!" Marceline interrupted.

"I did save you didn't I?" Lilly paused for a moment, allowing Marceline to think. "You could have ran in any direction, but I lead you on a specific course. I lead you right to Simon and Daddy."

Marceline thought quietly for a moment and began to mumble. "What do you want?"

"Nothing more than for you to listen me…" Lilly walked from the cave entrance until she was next to Marceline. She proceeded to sit down next to her by the fire place. "It's not all about the trials. In our time together and long before the afterlife, I have always wanted a friend. A friend like you, Marceline… I couldn't find friends like you. I began to realize the world for the way you see it now." Lilly looked towards Marceline, who was looking down and not showing any sign of expression. "I began to lose faith in humanity. I mean, who wouldn't? The world does seem like shit and any sane person would see it. But I learned that it's not humanity that we should put our faith in… it's the ones we love. Our friends and family. The ones who are there for us."

Marceline began to sob at Lilly's words. It all came rushing out, for it was the first thing Marceline has been able to feel all week. "God dammit."

"Marceline… I know you lack faith in a lot of things right now… especially since Simon broke your promises… especially since I disappeared on you. But you still love him. That's something that you can't just let go of. And he loves you too…"

Marceline then turns her head back at Lilly. "Did I make a mistake running away?"

"No… you needed your peace." Lilly wrapped her arms around Marceline and pulled her in, allowing her to cry into Lilly's bosom. "Underneath your undead look and characteristics, you are still human. You are allowed to go insane once in a while. But when you are ready, you can go apologize to him. He isn't going anywhere. Take your time." Marceline returned Lilly's embrace by wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her in. She cried herself to sleep as Lilly gently caressed Marceline's hair, as Marceline's mother once did.

* * *

It had been almost six hours since Simon left camp in search of Marceline. He swore searched every nook and cranny of the surrounding environment, but he was losing hope. The sun was about to come up and he had to make it back before anyone noticed he was gone. He knew that the new Billy, the dictator of the camp, would hunt him down and show him no mercy. He had only a short amount of time left. He had to hurry.

On the very last part of his search, he came across a cave underneath a broken bridge. It seemed like the place Marceline would hide, for it was completely out of the sun. From a distance, hiding under some brushes, he was about to walk towards the cave. Suddenly, he heard something creep up on him. It was rather quick. Before Simon had a chance to pull his sidearm out, he was hit in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.

* * *

"Simon!" Marceline was awoken in a jolt. Above her, Lilly was still present, watching her sleep. From the manner she woke up, she knew something was wrong. She could sense it.

"What's the matter, Marcy?" asked Lilly.

"Simon… I have to go see him." She stood up immediately and threw on her coverings.

"Marceline, it's almost daylight. Why do you need to see him right now?"

"It's important," she responded. "I don't know why, but it just is."

Lilly stood there for a moment, reluctant to give in. Eventually, after a long moment of thinking as Marceline packed her goods, she agreed. "I'll go with you…"

Marceline dropped everything she packed and embraced her red-headed friend. "Thanks Lill." She then grabbed her things and made her way outside. She stopped abruptly when she caught a whiff of a familiar scent.

"What is it Marc-"

Marceline raised a finger, hushing Lilly. She continued to sniff the air that was blowing downwind. "The smell…" she mumbled. "It's Simon. He was here. Not too long ago. Was he searching for me?"

"Most likely."

Marceline followed the scent into the brush. She moved around the leaves until a glimmer caught her eye. It was a broken reflection of light, coming from underneath the brush. She reached her hand into the thorns until she had a handle on the objects, paying no attention to the pain. She pulled it out in a hurry, allowing the thorns to slice her arm. It was Simon's broken glasses. She holds onto it, gently squeezing it as she begins to sob. "Oh god… what have I done?" she whispered. "What do I do?"

She felt Lilly's warm hand clasp onto her shoulder. With Marceline's free hand, she places her own hand onto Lilly's. She leans in close to Marceline's ear and whispers: "Go to daddy. He will help you."

Marceline nods and turns around to find Lilly gone once again. She had no time to react, so without time to waste, she sets off back towards the camp.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Dont forget to leave a review and comment and questions and i will respond in the next chapter! See ya in a while!**


	15. Kashmir

**Disclaimer: Hope you like this story. I am also in the process of working on a sequel for Transcendence and i might possibly write an original and publish it. Maybe. But anyway, those are things to look forward too. hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Back at Billy's camp, people were rushing, preparing under Billy's orders for the attack on the enemy encampment. Men, women, and children of all ages were holding weapons like knives, assault rifles, explosives and such. They were frightened, as they should be. The once peaceful refuge for survivors has now turned into a military camp with child soldiers under the rule of a dictator. Many people who saw what the camp had become tried to escape with their families. Some made it out, but others were caught. Those who were caught were publically executed in cold blood; an example of what was to become of any person who dared escape.

As Marceline levitated over the camp, under the disguise of her invisibility, she observed the events that happened down below. It disgusted her to see that the peaceful cooperative camp became identical to the quarantine zone she grew up in. As she flew over, she tried with all her will to hold the boiling anger inside. She tried hard not to just rip the soldiers to shreds. And she would successfully be able to do it too. After all, what could they do? Kill her? She was already dead. Bullets had no effect on a vampire. It would slow her down, but to truly kill a vampire, it has to be a wooden stake to the heart. She knew it, but she wasn't the only one who knew.

She slowly approached Billy's quarters as she thought about every possible scenario. Billy would not be in any mood to negotiate a plan to save Simon. He was a dictator, not a savior. He had the power to wage war if an enemy camp so much is just seen walking by. If a man would go to great lengths to kill over a small dispute, there would be no way that he would save a single soul from damnation. Despite knowing this, Marceline swallowed her anxieties and stepped inside.

* * *

"What do you mean you can't find him anywhere!" Billy screamed as he grabbed his lieutenant by his shirt.

The lieutenant coward in fear of his leader. "H… H-He must have l-left in the night…" he stuttered.

Billy shoved his lieutenant away as he turned back to his drawing board, where he placed all of his statistics of his supplies as well as a map of the area. He felt his anger boil up and he couldn't hold it in anymore. He let out a loud gasp as he put all his might in a single punch, knocking a gaping hole into the drawing board. "Fucking bastard took a lot of supplies with him too." After a moment to calm down, he let out a sinister giggle, which frightened everyone in the room. "No matter," he continued. "We will deal with him later. For now, let's focus on the Lich."

At that moment, the door blew open, revealing a silhouetted figure in a long shawl. It stepped into the dark room from the sunlight. "Hello Billy," the familiar voice said.

Billy squinted his eyes in an attempt to try and make the figure out. "Marceline?"

Marceline took off her hood, revealing her gray face and her fangs. Before she resumed the conversation, she had a chance to observe her surroundings. She could see into the night more clearly than any human would. She saw as many as five other soldiers in the room, other than Billy himself, all armed with rifles, a sidearm, and a knife.

"Seize her." Billy motioned his fingers and the soldiers immediately acted. One soldier came up behind Marceline and attempted to knock her out with a blow to the back of her head, but she quickly moved out of the way, delivering a blow to his gut and knocking the wind out of him. She took this opportunity to grab the knife from the soldier's belt and kicked him in the back of his knee, forcing him into a position of submission. The other soldiers raised their rifles at Marceline as she positioned her blade onto her hostage. She looked around once more to assess the situation one more time to quickly decide what her next move should be.

She then tossed the terrified soldier into the crowd of other soldiers and tactfully evaded the gunfire, knocking out the soldiers one by one with her immense strength. She sent the last soldier flying through the window, but when she turned around, her face was met by a wooden leg of a desk.

She blacked out for a moment and woke up just in time to see that the desk leg chipped into a wooden stake, a weapon capable of killing Marceline. She stared into Billy's eyes, which were once innocent with a gleam in them. Now, they were dull, almost as if he lacked a soul. Marceline returned her gaze back at the stake as it was about to come plunging down into her heart, but it suddenly stopped. "Billy no!" His wife, Jonah, had taken hold of his arm.

"Let me go!" With a single simple movement of his hand, Jonah went flying towards the wall back first. She fell and hit the floor with a thud and as Marceline watched her dead companion's mother fall unconscious at the hands of a dictator, she snapped. Something awoke within her then. All the built up tension and anger that she had been suppressing through the years manifested itself into a giant dark hole. She began to transform into a giant demon. Billy tried to push back, but she had become too strong. Marceline flicked the wooden stake out of his wrist and pinned him against the wall, creating an indentation in it. "What are you?" he asked in a whisper of fear.

"That's not important." said the low growl. "You are going to help me save Simon. You and your men. You know where the Lich's camp is. And you will take me to Simon, and you will let us go. You will never see us again. Do you understand?" He nodded in response to her demands. "Good… One last thing." Marceline pressed him intensely further into the wall. "If I see you hurt your wife again, I will kill you." He nodded once more. "Good," Marceline slowly transformed into herself again. "We leave tonight."

* * *

_Pow!_

* * *

Simon winced in pain from the blow he just took to his cheek. "You motherfucker…" he said as his wobbled from side to side, nearly going unconscious.

"Hey, hey… where do you think you're going?" said the green demon. "We ain't done yet." The Lich cocked his arm back and hit Simon with another grueling blow. He grabbed Simon by the scalp and faced him towards the light. The Lich giggled as he stared at the damage he had done. Simon's face was a bloody pulp, bleeding from all wholes except for his eyes. "You think you can just fuck with me!? You think you can do this to my face!?"

Simon giggled. "Gave you a makeover at least… anything was better than what you looked like before." Simon continued to giggle maniacally before the Lich pulled his face in and consecutively punched him in the nose. Simon once again winced in pain as he continued to giggle some more.

"You think this is funny?" said the irritated Lich. When Simon continued to giggle maniacally, the Lich had had enough. He got up and broke the glass window of the shed they were in. He then took a rather large shard of glass and forced it into Simon's mouth. Simon could feel it slice the inside of his cheek and the tip of his tongue as it went inside. The Lich then grabbed Simon by his chin. "When I am done with you, you are going to be beggin for death." The Lich then, with all his strength, knocked Simon hard in the jaw, breaking the sharp piece of glass in his mouth into tiny shards. A lot of blood came gushing out of Simon's mouth as he was about to fall out of conscious once again. The Lich proceeded to untie Simon. "We ain't done yet," he repeated. The Lich wanted to savor every scream from the man who ruined his face. He wanted Simon to be in hell on earth. He wanted to toy with his food. He then grabbed Simon by his shirt and tossed him to the ground. "Get up!" the Lich yelled.

Simon wiped the blood off of his lips as he got up, but he had little to no strength left. He stumbled backwards onto a shelf and as he tried to regain his footing, using the shelf as leverage, he felt something cold. Something pointy and rock hard. And then he heard it.

* * *

_Let me help you!_

* * *

Simon began to laugh maniacally again. "What the fuck is so god damn funny!?" screamed the Lich.

Simon continued to giggle. "I got you!" He pulled the sharp pointy object into the light. It was the crown. He put it on his head quickly and he had visions of the terror that haunted him for the longest time. The visions flashed in his head like a lightning fast slideshow until he saw a person. A familiar girl that he tried his hardest to protect. Marceline, or at least an apparition of her, appeared before Simon just long enough for Simon to say this with tears in his eyes: "I'm sorry Marcy. I love you." And with that, Marceline, without showing any sign of emotion but happiness, evaporates and Simon quickly disintegrates into madness. The Ice King has returned.

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**Hope you enjoyed it and dont forget to review, comment and ask questions. it really helps me as a writer!**


	16. Achille's Last Stand Pt 1

**Disclaimer: I will not be posting anymore until at the very earliest August 19th. I am going on another vacation. Sorry :(**

* * *

_Moments before…_

* * *

"Bravo… in position…"

"Alpha in position… awaiting orders…"

That night, above the enemy encampment, Marceline sat in the trees, observing the activities of the enemy camp from below. Things had been different ever since she had escaped a little more than two weeks prior. The enemy had refortified their perimeters and had now built towers overlooking the entrances. They would be suspecting a counterattack soon enough. But the element of surprise was on Billy's side. Using the darkness, his men were free to move about without being spotted.

Marceline was in charge of observing tactical advantages while hidden in the trees and Billy was in charge of orders on the ground. They would be able to communicate via headsets that once belonged to the military; now salvaged for survival through tactical means. All of Billy's men were armed with rifles. Marceline, having the ability to see through the darkness better than anyone else, granted herself with a weapon best suited for her position as a scout: a long range, high powered, suppressed bolt action sniper rifle. Jonah had debriefed her on how to shoot one. She knew that it would kick hard, but in terms of accuracy, snipers were best. Since most of engagements were within two-hundred meters and the night was rather calm, Marceline should have no trouble picking targets off from a range.

The cooperation between Marceline and Billy struck the two as rather odd. Two completely different people attempting to accomplish the same goal under different motives. Billy's motives were bloodlust and revenge; however, Marceline's motives were simple: Simon. At this point, she didn't care how many lives it took. Simon was the only family she had left, and no one was going to stand in her way. She was content on rescuing Simon by any means necessary.

Marceline continued to observe the area, looking for any signs of unusual activity, as well as openings and vantage points. There were barrels of gasoline, where if a hot round were to strike it, it would ignite immediately, setting anything near it ablaze. The cars with mounted machine-guns were armored like tanks, but if they could position themselves close enough to an oil drum, the armor won't matter. The legs of the towers surrounding the camp had explosives placed onto them, courtesy of Jonah and her squad. Bravo squad had placed another set of explosives at four corners of the circular perimeter of the camp. Billy's squad of elite was now ready, and they all were waiting on Marceline's action: to cause a commotion from inside the camp, from the outside.

"All squads ready… waiting on your go, Marceline," said Billy.

Marceline held out her long rifle and peered down the scope. She looked around the camp for a well placed oil drum, hopefully next to an armored vehicle. She found one and readied her rifle, stabilizing her aim by holding her breath. Time slowed and everything went silent, even more dead than it was before. She had her finger on the trigger, ready to pull…

* * *

_Boom!_

* * *

Suddenly, with a thundering crackle, a large chunk of rock erupted from underneath a shed to the far northeast corner of the camp, at least that's what it looked like to others. When Marceline caught a glimpse of it, she saw its color. It looked like crystal… no. Marceline knew it was ice. "Oh no…" she gasped in horror as the hope of rescuing Simon slowly slipped away. Abruptly time sped up as Jonah set off the chain reaction of explosions, destroying the legs of the towers, sending all who occupied them to their impending doom. The other sets of explosives went off, creating openings for Billy's men to go in guns blazing.

Marceline strongly considered whether or not she should rush in to save Simon, or help Billy's team. It wasn't that Simon couldn't hold his own; the issue was prolonged exposure to the crown. It seemed like the better idea to her until she thought about this question: Why would Simon need to put the crown on? Was it the Lich? If it is, then Marceline would not stand a chance against another supernatural being, at least not while he has reinforcements. Against her own motive, she decided to help Billy's men instead. She aimed her rifle at one of the oil drums located next to an armored vehicle, and pulled the trigger. Marceline was surprised at how little the gun kicked against her shoulder, but the recoil must have been reduced due to her newfound strength.

The oil drum exploded, enveloping the car and all of its inhabitants around it; however, instead of the red explosion that most were expecting to see, the oil drum exploded in a bright green mushroom cloud. Chunks of goo leapt from the explosion and landed on those nearby, who weren't caught in its fire. The enemy tried to shake it off, but it was stuck on them like glue. Marceline observed in horror as the green gel expanded over their skin. They screamed in pain as they tried to pull it off, but it was no use. The gel was digging deep into their skin. Many of Billy's men thought that they were going to turn into toxic, including Billy himself and Marceline. Before they had a chance to morph, they attempted to put down as many as they can. But the ones they didn't put down didn't morph into toxic. They morphed into fire. Marceline attempted to put more of the fiery beings down, but it was useless. Bullets no longer had an effect on them, but the new fiery beings didn't know that. They just simply thought that their skin was on fire, so in a frenzy, they ran out into the forest, passed the gunfire. They left a trail of fire behind them, burning the dead shrubbery and eventually causing the surrounding forestry to be enveloped in a blazing fire.

Marceline had to get off the trees, or else she would be consumed by the fire itself. Not that it would kill her, but it would certainly cause her pain, something she couldn't afford to have at a time like this. She wrapped her rifle's strap around her shoulder and flew off, circling the air like a vulture, looking for Simon.

* * *

From atop his colossal icy spike, the Ice King stood tall, staring down at his enemy. "I am the Ice King! Kneel before me!"

"I kneel before no one," said the Lich. He then raised his hand and pointed his finger towards the Ice King. The Lich attempted to take control of his mind with his powers, but to no avail. The crown that the Ice King was wearing was preventing the Lich from possessing him.

"Take this!" The Ice King held out his hand and out of thin air, three large icicles formed, sharp enough to impale someone like a spear. He hurled them towards the Lich but he blocked them. The icicles impaled the Lich's arms, and with the Ice King's total control over the ice, he shattered them. With the remaining smaller icicle shards, Ice King shoved them back into the Lich's arm, digging deeper and deeper into his skin. The Lich howled in pain as he felt the ice dig into his flesh. The Ice King had his hand open, facing the icicles embedded within the Lich. And with his command, he forcefully shut his hand and the icicles embedded within the Lich's arms exploded, revealing his bones. "Had enough?"

There was a moment of silence, followed by the Lich laughing maniacally. "You haven't seen anything yet." His eyes flashed green and he quickly moved. He was now flying fast, encircling the Ice king. Ice King's projectiles were now too slow to hit the Lich and after about his third time trying, the Lich suddenly appeared right in front of him and grabbed his face, forcing him into the ground. Upon impact, the Lich pummeled the Ice King's face in once, twice, and then a third time. For a moment, all seemed lost until, before the Lich was about to deliver the final blow to the Ice King's bloody face, a beastly wolf knocked the Lich away. The Ice King had no idea what was going on. _Who is this monster?_ He thought. It didn't matter. All that mattered to him was that he was safe.

The Lich somehow was able to reverse the giant wolf onto her back, giving it the same treatment it had been giving the Ice King just moments before. With each punch to the face, the wolf began to revert to its normal form. Marceline was now in its place, looking up at the claws that were about to dig right into her heart. _This is it_, she thought. She knew that what the Lich was going to do wouldn't kill her, but it would make her weak beyond the point of battle. She would no longer be able to assist in the rescue of Simon. She shut her eyes tightly, accepting her fate. Suddenly…

"Hey asshole!"

The Lich looked up only to be met with a bright yellow beam to the face. It was Billy, who's left hand was holding his sword and in the right hand, a bloody gauntlet. _Where was he getting these superior weapons?_ Marceline asked herself. They were always bloody when they randomly appeared. _Are they… coming out of his skin?_ It didn't matter. All that was important was that they had the advantage in numbers.

The Lich had managed to recover on his knees. He looked up at the trio, laughing once again. "What's so funny!?" Billy demanded.

"Well… It seems like I'm at a disadvantage…" he lifted his finger and everyone took a step back… "Let's even the odds…" His eyes shined a bright green again. Time froze as he circled around the three, looking for which body was going to be his for the taking. He already tried for the Ice King, and it didn't work. So the next in line was Billy, but he could not take control of him either. _So be it…_ there was only one other option. Time resumed and the Lich, with his finger out, pointed directly to Marceline. "You are now mine!"

* * *

**I hope you liked this chapter. Dont forget to leave a review and comment and ask questions. Thanks!**

**PS: IMPORTANT! If you havent checked out Bravest Warriors, please do so. Its on youtube. Its another show created by P. Ward and the story is going to be crucial for the next installment in my Transcendence story. Its going to be a crossover. Let me know what you guys think of that as well.**

**PPS: Just a suggestion if you are waiting for more AT episodes to air. Watch Shingeki no Kyojin, also known as "Attack on Titan." It's really awesome. I just got into it. its on crunchyroll. :) **

**See you guys in a week.**


	17. UPDATE

**I am incredibly sorry that i have been MIA this past week and a half. I have been really busy with life and such. For those of you who has read thus far, which i hope is every one of you guys, you should already know that this story is coming to its end. I will be posting the final two chapters simultaneously. So it could be anywhere from late this week to sometime next week. I need to get this completed before i begin attending the university.**

**Also, as for the sequal to transcendence, I still have quite a lot of work to do in terms of developing it. and i dont exactly have that much time to write while going to school, so... *takes a deep gasp*... the sequal will be posted after the semester at its earliest. So expect it in December at the earliest. Im so sorry for the inconvenience because i feel like i failed you guys. **

**With that being said, While i may be inactive in terms of posting content, i will still be answering PMs and i will also still be paying attention to my reviews. So feel free to PM me anything.**

**Once again, sorry for the wait. **

**-RandomFanFicReader772**

**PS: i might even change my pen name.**


	18. Achille's Last Stand Pt 2

**Thank you guys for being so supportive! once again, FanFic net is the best community i have ever encountered.**

**Disclaimer: I know its early, but i have finished planning out the rest of the story, another reason why its taken me so long. The final battle "Achilles' Last Stand," (named after an EPIC Led Zeppelin song) was soo long, that i had to split it into three chapters. So after this, there will be an additional two chapters left, and will be uploaded next week. **

* * *

Marceline quickly found herself frozen, powerless to the will of the Lich. She tried to move but she couldn't. She was completely paralyzed and worse, she could feel the demon trying to push her out of her own body. She tried to fight it, but it was too strong; either that or her will was too weak. Either way, she eventually succumbed to the power of evil. She collapsed onto her knees at first, but she managed to stay upright. The smile she had on her face was so fierce and terrifying, her own fangs were digging into the flesh of her lip. "Marceline?" Billy called from the other end of the burning inferno to check on her.

Marceline's smile widened, allowing more blood to drip from her mouth. "Marceline is gone. I am nothing more than a pet for the Lich. A soldier of darkness!" She began to transform into a werewolf. "And an enemy of my master is an enemy of me!"

She leapt forth as the Lich stood behind her, watching his new henchwoman do his dirty work. Marceline pounced onto Billy as the Ice King focused his attention onto the Lich. With her razor sharp claws, Marceline tore at Billy's face, ripping some rather large shards of skin away. Then she opened her jaw wide and Billy was able to stop her in place just before she crushed his skull in her mouth. At this exact same time, the lich also had the Ice King pinned and powerless. Both of them were on the brink of death, but Billy had an ace up his sleeve. The gauntlet he was wearing began to grow bright, right at the tip of Marceline's jaw. He was going to blow Marceline to pieces. The eye of the gauntlet opened and was now ready to open fire. Just as the beam was released, a dark figure swept in from the sky and pulled the possessed Marceline away from the bright beam, and in the processes, knocking the Lich off of the Ice king. "Who is that?" hissed the Lich.

From above floated a man with pale skin in a tuxedo. It was Marceline's father, Hunson Abadeer. "It's really good to see you!" Billy exclaimed. "Are you here to help us?"

"I have to do something first," he replied. When Hunson looked down onto Marceline, who was only temporarily unconscious, Billy understood.

"Just make it quick!"

Hunson nodded and took Marceline elsewhere.

Lasers, magic, and gunshots blared throughout the camp as Hunson made his way into the air, trying to get Marceline somewhere safe. Little did he know that his daughter, or what was controlling her, had reawakened. She quickly struggled outside of his grasp and attempted to claw at her father's face. "Marceline! It's me!" There was no response from his daughter as he held her back with all his force. "Marceline stop!" Still no response. Marceline pressed harder and harder until she was nearly about to breach Hunson's defense. He didn't have any other choice. Right before he was about to give in, he reversed her claw and wrapped his arm around her, hurdling them both to the ground below.

They struck the floor with such an impact, the surrounding environment had to make space for the crater. The possessed Marceline found herself pinned down by her father. "Marceline! I know you're in there somewhere. I know you can hear this. Fight it! You have to beat it, Marceline!" With both of his hands, he attempted to restrain his daughter, but with a simple movement, she pushed her father's hands away and kicked him onto his back. Now she was on top of him and pressing all her weight down. "Marceline…" he spoke as he tried to hold his daughter back from ripping at his throat. "I'm sorry… I should have been a better father to you… I should have put you ahead of everything. I hope you can forgive me, because I failed you." He suddenly felt her hands loosen up, although she was still trying to push herself into tearing him apart. "If you are really that upset, you can have at me… I just wanted to let you know that I love you and always will." Hunson loosened his grip as well, but instead of being torn apart, he saw tears rushing down his daughters face. From within the glistening eyes of Marceline, Hunson saw her pupils dilate, changing themselves into a cage. From within the cage, he could see his real daughter.

"Daddy! Help me!" she screamed.

"Marceline!" he jolted and kicked her off of him, sending her flying away just a few meters. She recovered back onto her feet and was ready to strike again. Hunson knew that just by herself, she wouldn't be able to break away. He quickly moved to stand and readied himself for what was going to happen next. "Marceline… I will get you out of there." They exchanged glances one last time before darting towards each other.

From the inside of her head, Marceline viewed the battle going on from the inside. She tried to fight the demon or whatever was controlling her from the inside of her mind, but she was too weak. "Let me out of here!" she demanded. It was like she was trapped within a dark box. She pounded against the walls. "Let me go!" She pounded harder and harder until her fist became bruised. "Dammit!" She was hell bent on getting out, but she didn't know where or how to start. Abruptly, the room surrounding her began to brighten. In the corner of the room was a person, dressed in an angelic white gown, blue eyes and flowing red hair. "Lilly…"

"Marceline…"

"What's happening?" inquired Marceline. "Why don't I have control?"

"The Lich is controlling you. On your own, you can't beat it, but together, we can best him."

"But how?"

"From within… deep within." Lilly moved closer to Marceline. "You have to find the answer from deep within yourself Marceline…"

"Where do I start?" she asked.

"What's the strongest power in the world?" Marceline was puzzled at the riddle.

"Love?" she spoke simply. "It is love right?"

"You are on the right track, but you haven't nailed it," replied Lilly. "While that is commonly what most would say, there are some things that love overlooks."

Marceline placed her hand on her scalp, scratching cluelessly. "Hmmm… I don't get it."

"Look…" Lilly pointed to the visions in front of them. Marceline stared as she could see from her point of view, attacking her father. The battle seemed like it was going nowhere, because neither one of them were landing any hits.

"My father?"

"He has done many things to make you angry… but you don't hate him. You love your father. And deep down you know it." Marceline knew Lilly had a point, but she was more puzzling than ever. "With that said," she continued, "How could love be the most powerful force if you can still love a person who angers you? Who abandons you?"

"What are you getting at?"

"The strongest force in this universe comes from deep within… love ties into it, but this force takes a great deal of love and power to overcome… to admit." Marceline was getting more confused by the minute. "Marceline… what comes from deep within, the power to accept what they have done. What comes from deep down, the ability to come to terms with what Simon had to do? The promises he had to break?"

"Forgiveness…"

"That's right. It takes much more power to forgive someone than it does to love them. You can love Simon, but it's harder to forgive him. Same for your father…" Lilly returned her gaze back at Marceline's outside point of view. "Do you forgive him, Marceline?"

"… I don't know. I want to, but I don't know if I can. He wasn't there for me. In the past eighteen years, I had Mom and Simon when he should have been there. Mom would still be alive if he were." She began to sob. "Where was he when I was sick and alone? Where was he when I was on the edge of death?…"

"He was there. He was the one who saved you."

Marceline suddenly lit up. "He did… that's right. He also just apologized… it sounded really sincere, as if he actually was sorry."

"Do you believe it?"

"I do… But I do forgive him, just not entirely… not yet." Suddenly the walls began to crumble and Lilly began to glow a bright white. "What's going on?" screamed Marceline.

"The room is breaking… and I am transcending… I have completed my final task… and I am venturing to the 50th dead world." She leaped forth and embraced Marceline with a warm hug. "Thank you Marceline. You are the best friend anyone could have. I am forever grateful of this."

Marceline returned her hug, wrapping her own arms around Lilly. "Thank you." Lilly, with tears in her eyes, began to fade in Marceline's arms. Marceline shut her eyes, savoring every last second she had with what she would consider her best friend. "Goodbye, my friend." When she reopened her eyes, Lilly was gone, leaving Marceline alone in a bright white room with a hole chiseled into the wall. She took a giant breath before she stepped inside.

* * *

**I hope that wasnt too cheesy. Dont forget to leave a review and the next two chapters will be uploaded next week, even if i die trying.**


	19. Achille's Last Stand Pt 3

**DEATHXBYXTREE: I dont in particular like magic man as a character, but he does have potential. I like the Lich better.**

**Well here it is guys! The final two chapters are here! I hope you like them!**

* * *

Hunson, with all of his strength, fought off Marceline's merciless attacks for as long as he could. He had gotten a few cuts and bruises from the attacks, but his offensive was beginning to wear him thin. Slowly, he began to become defensive, just blocking the incoming strikes from his daughter. She was quick, and in most instances, quicker than Hunson ever imagined. He began to quicken his parries and over time, his defense began to fatigue him as well. His parries became slower, and when Marceline saw an opening, she broke through his defense, landing a bone-crushing blow to Hunson's jaw, sending him flying backwards into the rubble.

Hunson pushed the rubble off of him, one by one. At this point, he was too tired to fight back. He couldn't die, so he just laid there, awaiting Marceline's blow. He spat blood from his lips. "Come and get me! Do it!" he screamed. And without hesitation, Marceline dashed at full speed and pinned Hunson against the rocks. She lifted her hand and Hunson shut his eyes tightly, awaiting his fate. She swiftly swung her claw down, only to be caught by another hand. Hunson opened his eyes to find that the hand wasn't his hand, nor was it Billy's. The hand that caught the claws, was in fact Marceline's own.

"What? How is this possible!?" howled the demon from within.

"Daddy! Run!"

"Marceline?" it took him a moment to register what was happening inside his brain. "No… I am not going to leave you. Like I have the past eighteen years."

"Daddy…"

The demon inside was still struggling to regain control of the vessel. Marceline could feel herself being taken over once again and Hunson saw it. He quickly took hold of his daughters hands to restrain her from attacking some more. "Marceline. Listen to me sweetheart. You have to fight it. Fight it!"

Her breath quickened its pace as she responded. "I can't! It's too hard!" To her, it mentally felt like her body was being torn in two. Although she knew the pain wasn't physical, it was still quite excruciating.

"Nothing is too hard for you." Hunson smiled slowly and shyly. "You're my daughter. You have been put through worse and still came out on top. You can beat this thing…" He leaned forward, pecking his daughter on the forehead. A sudden burst of happiness lit up inside of Marceline as she forced a smile. Abruptly, her eyes began to re-dilate and became back to normal. She suddenly felt weak, and instead of clawing into her father's skin like she would have done had she been possessed, she let go and jumped away. With all fours placed on the ground, Marceline began to vomit a dark green substance.

"Get out of my body… you freak!"

She fought hard, and in the end, she beat the evil entity inside of her. As it came out of her body in the form of green ooze, she began to feel weak, even weaker than she already was. As Hunson saw his daughter weaken, he knew what she needed. It wasn't just shades of red that she needs. She needs something with more vitality. She needed blood. Soon she fell unconscious on the ground, nearly lying in the puddle of green waste. Hunson dashed to pick up his daughter, knowing where he should go to ensure Marceline's safety. So, being the ruler of the Nightosphere, he didn't need to use bug milk in order to open the portal. He was allowed to travel in between realms as he pleased. So without a second thought, he gazed upon the floor and chanted:

* * *

_Malloso vobiscum et cum spiritum!_

* * *

The epic battle continued between Billy and the Lich as the firefight between the civilians of both camps came to an end. The Ice King, at this time, remained unconscious. In terms of strength and power, they were evenly matched, but the battle continued ever more. Billy, with his new found, power hungry abilities, knocked the Lich backwards, launching him quite some distance away. With Billy's new blade, Nothung, he threw it towards the Lich, but he quickly evaded. Billy, with some practice, learned how to control the sword with his mind. The sword followed the Lich through the air. While evading the sword, the Lich was also firing back green balls of fire towards Billy. He dodged every single one, but the Lich closed in on him quickly. The Lich wore an ugly smile on his face and it made Billy ponder about it. Suddenly he heard a female scream. "Billy!"

Billy looked to his left to find his wife, rushing towards him. Billy returned one look at the Lich, who was nearly about to hit him, but just a few feet away from Billy, he moved out of the way to reveal Billy's own Nothung coming to impale him. There wasn't enough time to stop it. It was coming in to fast. All Billy could do was brace himself for his death at his own hand. It was coming… faster… and ever faster. He shut his eyes tightly and didn't open them until he heard a piercing thud and felt a splash of warm liquid on his clothes. He opened his eyes to see the horrifying sight of himself drenched with blood, but to him, what he saw next was even more horrifying. His wife, Jonah, stood in front of Billy, facing towards him, with the tip of Nothung sticking out from her lower chest. All of time and space halted in that moment. Billy could see the look in her eyes. The look of love and the look of disappointment. It was then that he knew, she hated what he had become. She had faith that the old Billy was still inside of him. And now, she will never get to see him again. It broke Billy's heart and from the inside, he cried out for his wife. "Jonah!" Suddenly, the real Billy broke out of his trance and time advanced again. Jonah collapsed onto the ground, but Billy was there just in time to catch her. He pushed the hair out of her face, drenching it with his fallen tears. "Jonah. No! Please wake up!" There was no response.

As he laid there, sobbing over the regret of his actions, the Lich floated behind him ready to strike him with a final blow. He charged a large green ball of fire, and when he was about to release it, another entity tackled him. "Billy! Make it quick!" Hunson screamed.

Billy paid no heed to him. He was in his own little world now. He did everything in his power to revive his wife, but it was to no avail. The stab pierced directly through Jonah, but as if that wasn't enough, she was stabbed with such force that it shattered some of her vertebrae and destroyed her sternum. She was bleeding from the inside and Billy couldn't stop it, not in time. He sadly placed his hand on his wife's neck to feel the horror. The horrifying feeling of nothingness. It was then that Billy knew what he had to do, at least in that moment. He had to avenge her death. He gave his lover one last kiss and begged for forgiveness, not just from Jonah, but from God. He prayed that his sins be forgiven, but he felt no forgiveness. He felt that he could atone for the sins by being a warrior of god, sent down to rid the earth of evil. He will destroy the Lich, once and for all. Or die trying.

From behind him, Hunson was struggling to keep the Lich in place. He was powerless to fight this evil in a different realm. He could still turn chaotic, but where is true power lies is within his minions. He had a plan to get the Lich into the Nightosphere, by forming a portal right behind the evil, but he couldn't do it alone. Billy saw what Hunson was trying to do, observing both their battle and the portal closely, and without additional hesitation, Billy withdrew his blade embedded into his lover, and darted towards the Lich.

Hunson clawed as Billy swung, trying their hardest not to strike each other. Together, they were able to push the Lich back far enough so that he could fall through, and when he did, both Billy and Hunson entered the portal together and Hunson turned around quickly, sealing the portal behind them and locking the fight inside the Nightosphere.

With Billy's amazing ground offense and Hunson's intense air offense, they were able to keep the Lich grounded. However, with one mistake from Hunson, the Lich capitalized and with a force of green light, blew Hunson away. The minions of Hunson had only one priority: to ensure the wellness of their leader, so naturally, they all retreated to check up on Hunson. Now it was just Billy, alone with the Lich. "That was quite the set of powers you got there? It's a shame that you had to kill her though," the Lich grinned.

"I'm gonna kill you…"

"How do you kill something that's unkillable?"

"I don't know how… but I'll find a way. And when I do, you are going to wish that you and I never crossed paths!" Billy lunged forward, and with the bone of his forearm, the Lich deflected the attack. He swung his claw against Billy, but he deflected his attack as well. The trade off went on for a couple more times as they circled around each other.

"Well… it seems like we are evenly matched," the Lich sang. "So what now? Are we going to fight until the end of days?"

"No… but it's a shame you won't live to see the end of days." Billy took another swing at the legs of his opponent, but he missed as the Lich flew into the air.

The floating Lich now taunted Billy, but he had no room for that. Seeing the moment to capitalize, he pulled forth his gauntlet and shot a beam at the Lich, who just barely dodged it in time. He flow around Billy, dodging every single shot he made. Each shot had to take a little bit of time to recover, giving the Lich enough time to eventually close in and strike. Seeing his opportunity, he swept underneath Billy's defense. Billy caught a glimpse of the devilish green eyes before crying out in pain. He was now pulled up from the ground as he found himself impaled halfway into the Lich's arm. The Lich gave a hearty laugh as he stared at all of the blood rushing down from his hand that pierced through Billy. "See, I cant be killed."

Billy, with the little strength that he had left, took his left arm and pulled himself closer to the Lich, further pushing the evil's arm further into Billy himself. Billy laughed at the current predicament. "What's so damn funny?" stuttered the Lich. Within half a second, Nothung flew into Billy's hand and with one swift swipe, he beheaded the Lich.

* * *

Billy and Hunson pulled the remains of the carcass together and threw them into the nearest pit of resin. Tree resin wasn't common in the Nightosphere, but as always, Hunson had a huge amount stashed somewhere. From the moment he was impaled, Billy had thought that he was going to die, and although the hole in his heart never healed until a thousand years later, he had a surprising amount of energy. Hunson had the tree resin hardened and encased. The tree resin soon became the amber cage that imprisoned the Lich for a thousand years. The usual process for tree resin to become amber usually takes thousands of years, but Hunson had a way to quickly do it. As they watched the resin beneath them slowly hardened, Hunson had to know one thing. "What are you going to do with him?"

"Well… I was hoping we could leave him here." Billy replied.

"No. That can't be done." Billy turned his gaze to Hunson in utter shock.

"Why not?"

"Because… we are all natural here. Everything natural being with a consciousness is set on a specific part of a spectrum that is good and evil. While we are considered mostly evil, there are parts of us that want to do good."

"So that's why you saved Marceline. But how did you know we were in trouble?"

Hunson laughed. "Your daughter told me."

"Lilly?"

"Yes. Anyway," Hunson proceeded, "I, and all of the citizens of the Nightosphere, are drawn to great power. It would not be wise to keep him here, because in an attempt to become stronger, we will free him."

"And you think that Earth is a better place?"

"Yes." Hunson glanced back at Billy. "Because the people of Earth are not so swayable as us. And although you guys can have the tendency for evil, its not likely that one person would want to unleash this force. As I said earlier, every natural being is placed on a spectrum of good and evil, but they also have to rely on mother nature herself. They cannot live without her, so bringing a force as unnatural as the Lich back onto the world will do them no good. It will backfire and the backlash will be immense."

"I see."

"Then you also understand why we can't keep him here?" asked Hunson.

"Yes."

"Good. You will have to bury him somewhere on Earth. I just hope that no one finds him."

* * *

Shortly thereafter, Billy had removed the ball of fossilized resin, which now was amber, from the Nightosphere. He knew exactly where to plant it, a place where it would be too painful for him to return. He returned to the battleground and observed all of the dead. The weight of all the dead people were placed onto his shoulders, the heaviest weight being his wife. Before he proceeded with burying the amber tomb, he carried the carcass of his wife in his hands. Tears filled his eyes as he now thought of his failure to both his wife and daughter. It pained him to believe that it was him that killed them both. But nothing could be done now. He wanted to take his own life, but he couldn't. The hole that the Lich left in his chest was enormous, and even though it didn't heal, it didn't even pain him as much as it should. But the true hole, the curse that kept him alive for the next thousand years, was the hole that his family left when he took their lives.

He carried his wife to the outskirts of the dead camp, where the forestry surrounding it was charred black. He set her down there and proceeded back into the center of the camp, where he buried the Lich twelve feet under, and afterwards, set the camp ablaze. It was then that he carried Jonah back to his own camp, and buried her there, alongside his fallen companions. It was then that he noticed that all of the residents defending the camp had left him. He was alone, the way he figured he should be. He sought forgiveness from God as he smite the Lich, but he didn't deliver. He wanted to take his own life but he couldn't. He figured instead of dwelling, he would seek atonement, so he declared that he would help people through nonviolent means, and would only use violence when necessary. From that day, through his acts for atonement of his sins, the legendary hero, Billy, was born.

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**Dont forget to leave a review!**


	20. Epilogue: Ten Years Gone

**OMG final chapter you guys!**

* * *

It had been ten years since that fateful battle happened before Marceline decided to return from the Nightosphere. She couldn't stand the world anymore. She had to escape, at least for a while. She somehow found peace in the chaos of the Nightosphere. She couldn't even stand the thought of Simon, because she missed him. She wanted him back, but couldn't have him. Instead, she got the Ice King. She just had to get away for a long while before she could face her world again.

In the midst of a beautiful spring day, she appeared at Billy's camp spot, covered from head to toe to prevent contact with the sun. The place had been run down, a sign that it had been abandoned years before. Nature had begun to reclaim its rightful territory. Green grass grew through the cracks of the cement, covered in glistening dew. The light from the sun added a beautiful ambiance to the scene. The camp that was once monochromatic had become vibrant with the colors of the rainbow. Although she admired the scenery, she took no more than a few minutes to savor it. She was there for one reason and one reason only: to get her belongings.

She searched for her quarters, where her and Simon once resided together. She scoured through the sets of bunkers until she found hers, which sat in the middle of the bunkers, mostly undamaged. The door was rusted and the knob wouldn't turn, so she kicked the door, sending it flying across the room. Inside was her bed, in almost the exact way she left it. On the floor was a sleeping bag, where Simon was. And next to that were bottles and bottles of whiskey. She paid no heed to that. But what she was there for, was in fact, still there. On her bed, she could see her most valued possessions: her Fender Precision Bass that was a gift from Billy, and Hambo, a gift from Simon. She intended to live on Earth, which had now began to become known as Ooo. She picked up her belongings and set off into Ooo, in search of a new home.

* * *

The Ice King soon built his Ice Kingdom in the mountains to the North, where he would live hundreds of years more, stealing princess and what not. The survivors eventually became subjected to the toxics and while many died, a few percentage actually survived. The old bandits became Marauders and the remaining humans were nearly wiped out. They resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. The meat they hunted became tainted with toxins as well as the fruits they ate. The surviving humans feasted on each other, until there was nothing left. The others were devoured by the new creatures the world has created, like the Rainicorns and such. Soon enough, the humans became an extinct race.

Those exposed to the Lich's green toxin's from that epic battle, became the Fire Kingdom. Their fires never died. And Billy… he went on to do valiant deeds, promoting peace wherever he went, unless it was absolutely necessary to use violence, like he did with the evil ocean, the fire count, and a bear. As for the Lich, the amber cage that he resided in performed an unexpected feat. Almost like a seed, a mysterious tree grew from it, lifting the amber from deep within the ground high into the air. Within the next couple hundred years, the Lich would eagerly await his freedom as he observed the citizens beneath him build a new kingdom, the Candy Kingdom. From there, he waited and waited until the day finally came and he would be free to reign destruction on all of the land.

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**Alas! the end! i just hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it. My next work, entitled "Revelation", will come out either late next month or late december, depending on what happens in my life. Its been a pleasure posting these chapters, and i sincerely do hope you enjoy them. Dont forget to leave a comment and if you have any questions or just looking for someone to chat with in general, i will also be responding to my PMs on my spare time. Take care and have a good semester!**


	21. AT LAST!

**Hey whats up guys!**

**Adventure Time: Revelation is UP! BE SURE TO WATCH ALL OF BRAVEST WARRIORS ON YOUTUBE FIRST! THE EPISODES ARE AT MOST 8 MINUTES IN LENGTH AND THERE ARE ONLY ABOUT 12 OF THEM.**

**Hope you like it!**

**-RFFR772**


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